Written by Derek Moody, September 5, 2016, at 1:49 a.m. Tweet to: @DerekMoody619
Mackenzie Dern recently crossed over from the world of grappling where she is an ADCC Champion and multiple time World Jiu Jitsu Champion. The transition from jiu jitsu to mixed martial arts has been a difficult one for many jiu jitsu legends. Striking doesn’t seem difficult to grasp when you’re on the outside looking in but when you’re on the receiving end of a strike it makes you contemplate a different career.
Kron Gracie and MacKenzie Dern were two of the biggest names in the jiu jitsu world to cross over recently. Kron submitted both of his opponents proving he was ready for mma. Dern will look to do the same as grappling is her strength and will be her primary key to victory.
Dern comes from a legendary family so success is no stranger to her and is the only route she knows. Failure is a very viable option it just doesn’t exist in her DNA. She has her black belt under her father, Wellington “Megaton” Dias, who is a fifth degree black belt currently under Royler Gracie. Mackenzie’s jiu jitsu training began at three years old and her accolades are nearly unmatched. She’s accomplished so much at a very young age and looks to do the same within mixed martial arts.
Mackenzie Dern’s MMA Debut
On July 22nd, Mackenzie Dern and Kenia Rosas made their mma debuts against each other in the strawweight division. During the first round, Dern trounced on Rosas easily overwhelming her with multiple submission attempts. Rosas entered fight or flight mode surviving submission attempt after submission attempt. Her flexibility proved key in her submission escapes. Round 2 mirrored round one but this time we saw Dern utilize some ground and pound.
Landing many heavy shots, Dern was able to really inflict some damage. Rosas somehow survived the round again. In the final round, Dern really turned it on with the ground and pound as she assaulted Rosas from start to finish. All three rounds could easily have been scored 10-8’s which aren’t given out often. They scored it 30-27, 30-26, 30-25 in favor of Mackenzie Dern. Dern showed great resilience and consistency in the fight never letting her foot off the gas.
What The Future Holds
Dern should continue to fight newcomers to MMA so that her progression comes natural. Sometimes making that big leap too early can ruin morale if a loss is the outcome. It’d be smart to fight people with under five fights until she gains that experience. Her jiu jitsu will eventually show its dominance as she becomes more comfortable wearing the gloves and competing at shorter time limits.
At Legacy 61 on October 14, 2016, Mackenzie Dern is set to face Montana Stewart. Stewart is currently 5-2 with four submission victories to her credit. Both of her losses were by way of decision. This will be a great test for Dern due to Stewart’s experience. Ideally it would be best to fight someone with less total fights.
It would be a shame to rack up an early career loss because of experience. Her team is very knowledgeable and wouldn’t book the fight if they didn’t feel she was ready. This fight may turn out to be a grappling war as Dern will be looking to pick up where she left off in her debut. She could smell the submission as Kenia Rosas was very close to tapping on multiple occasions.
Montana Stewart’s career started off with back to back decision losses then she went on a five fight win streak. All of her wins are against women with either one or two fights under their belt. This fight is right up her alley as she gains experience fighting women with little to no experience. The difference is the experience in Dern’s corner and her background within high level competition. Dern is great at defending submissions but now we’ll find out if Stewart is because Dern will definitely apply pressure.
Big Expectations
One of Dern’s coaches is former WEC and UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson who recently said, “She will be bigger than Ronda Rousey before Rousey lost.” Immediately that statement created some buzz both positively and negatively.
Whether she will live up to Benson Henderson’s statement, Dern is still the greatest female grappler on the planet. She certainly destined for greatness but it seems nearly impossible to match the run Rousey had in MMA.
Ronda Rousey once said, “I thought, and still think, that I could beat any girl in the world, any weight division, gi or no-gi, black belt and in any rule set they want, in just pure jiu jitsu.”
Obviously that didn’t sit well with many black belt jiu jitsu practitioners but it does create some interesting matches. The most competitive match would be between Mackenzie Dern and Ronda Rousey. It would be most appealing between the two if the grappling match was under Eddie Bravo Invitational rules.
Dern is new to the mixed martial arts platform but a grappling match places her as the favorite against just about anyone. If Rousey still stands behind those comments and lost her passion for MMA this would be an ideal scenario. If Dern were to win, it would extremely boost her already large fan base. But that is strictly for the hypothetical talk. For now, look forward to seeing rising star Mackenzie Dern on October 14, 2016.