Mackenzie Dern
Mackenzie Lynne Dern Santos (born March 24, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is a former world No. 1 ranked IBJJF competitor, currently ranked 6th among the female divisions. She is an ADCC and no gi BJJ (black belt) World Champion. As of April 12, 2022, she is #4 in the UFC women's strawweight rankings and as of April 25, 2022 #13 in the UFC women's pound for pound rankings. Early life. Dern was born in Arizona, the daughter of Wellington "Megaton" Dias, a highly decorated grappling competitor  himself. As a child, she grew up travelling back and forth between Arizona and her father's native Brazil. Dern is fluent in English and Portuguese. She has stated that Portuguese has become her primary tongue, explaining that "my Dad and step Mom are both Brazilian. My boyfriend speaks Portuguese. I'm speaking Portuguese more than English. I still have lots of interactions in English of course. But I think in Portuguese, anything to do with fight is all in Portuguese in my mind, I dream in Portuguese." Dern began training by the age of three and practicing with her  father and stepmother who is also a black belt, Luciana Tavares. Mackenzie started competing at a young age, and began competing in the adult divisions at 14 years old. She has won a world championship in every belt level as she progressed to black belt rank, which was awarded to her by her father in December 2012, three months prior to her 20th birthday. She graduated from Ironwood High School in Glendale, Arizona. Due to her six 1st place finishes at the Asian Open, Mackenzie is the only female Jiu-Jitsu competitor to have won Gold Medals, at Black Belt  level, at each of the 5 principal/highest ranking IBJJF Gi Championships - the other events are the Worlds, the Euros, the Pan Ams and the Brazilian Nationals. One of her biggest achievements in BJJ came when she managed to defeat Gabi Garcia despite a huge weight difference, becoming one of the few women to do so. Mixed martial arts. Legacy Fighting Alliance. Dern was scheduled to make her mixed martial arts debut against Kenia Rosas at Legacy FC 58. She won her debut by unanimous decision. Dern was scheduled to fight Montana De La Rosa at Legacy FC 61. The  bout was initially scheduled to be contested at strawweight, but was later changed to catchweight, as Dern missed weight by 2.8 lbs. She won the fight by a first round submission. Dern was scheduled to fight Katherine Roy at . Dern came in overweight for the second time in a row, missing weight by four pounds, and had to forfeit 20% of her purse. She won the fight by unanimous decision. Dern moved up to flyweight for her fourth professional fight, being scheduled to fight Mandy Polk at . She beat Polk by a first-round rear-naked choke. After going 4 -0 in her first four professional fights, Dern signed with Invicta Fighting Championship in November 2017. Invicta Fighting Championship. Dern made her Invicta debut on December 8, 2017, at against Kaline Medeiros. She won the fight via an armbar in round three. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Dern made her promotional debut against Ashley Yoder on March 3, 2018, at UFC 222. She won the fight via split decision. Dern faced Amanda Cooper on May 12, 2018 at UFC 224. At the weigh-ins, Dern weighed in at 123 pounds, 7 pounds over the strawweight non-title fight upper limit of 116  pounds. As a result, the bout proceeded at catchweight and Dern was fined 30% of her purse. Dern won the fight via submission through a rear naked choke in the first round. After a hiatus from maternity leave, Dern faced Amanda Ribas on October 12, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 19. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Dern was expected to face Ariane Carnelossi on April 25, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 173. Carnelossi was forced to withdraw from the bout due to travel restriction. Dern was scheduled to face Hannah Cifers on April 25, 2020. However, on April  9 the promotion announced that this event was postponed. The pairing eventually took place on May 30, 2020 at . Dern won the fight with a first round kneebar - becoming the first woman to finish a fight by any form of leg lock in UFC history. This win also earned her her first "Performance of the Night" award. Dern faced Randa Markos on September 19, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 178. She won the fight via submission in the first round. This win earned her her second straight "Performance of the Night" award. Dern faced Virna Jandiroba on December 12, 2020  at UFC 256. Dern won the fight by unanimous decision. Dern faced Nina Nunes on April 10, 2021 at UFC on ABC 2. She won the bout via first round armbar. This win earned her a Performance of the Night award. Dern faced Marina Rodriguez on October 9, 2021 on UFC Fight Night 194. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned her the "Fight of the Night "award. Dern faced Tecia Torres on April 9, 2022 at UFC 273. Dern defeated Torres in a close bout by split decision. Personal life. Dern is married to professional surfer  Wesley Santos. In February 2019, Dern announced that she had put her MMA career on hold due to pregnancy. Her daughter, Moa, was born on June 9, 2019. According to Dern, she left Black House MMA after a reported incident concerning her original coach, Juan Gomez, where he got into a physical altercation with her husband over a disagreement about money. However, Gomez disputed money being the reason and subsequently both Dern and Gomez were asked to leave the team. Grappling record. Records as per BJJHeroes website. Instructor lineage. Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie, Sr. → Helio Gracie  → Royler Gracie → Wellington "Megaton" Dias → Mackenzie Dern