Mackenzie Dern has fought in UFC main events before. In fact, Saturday will be her fourth.
The Huntington Beach strawweight has even gone toe to toe with Amanda Ribas before. The fellow 31-year-old Brazilian handed Dern her first UFC and pro MMA loss in 2019.
But there’s a first for everything, and Dern’s five-rounder against Ribas at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas is not only the first rematch of her 20-fight career but the first to come so close to the holidays.
Consider Dern not a fan of missing time with family and friends and enjoying the festivities.
“I think, just going to Brazil and being with family, having the good dinners, you know, the family meals,” Dern said in an interview Tuesday. “And kind of just being on that relaxing … like in Brazil it’s summer, you know? It’s not winter so that’s kind of huge.”
As for fighting Ribas (13-5) again, Dern (14-5) is excited to take on the fellow Top 10-ranked 115-pounder.
Their first fight, on Oct. 12, 2019, ended with Ribas winning by unanimous decision. It was only Dern’s third UFC fight and her first MMA loss in eight fights.
Dern has no problem with the decision – Ribas won all three rounds on all three judges’ scorecards. The big “what if” was whether Dern was fight-ready just four months after her daughter, Moa, was born.
“I think she felt me not at my worst, but basically like the Mackenzie that I didn’t know I could be, how professional I could be in MMA,” Dern said. “I had just had Moa four months ago, you know, and breastfeeding, and I didn’t really have, like, all this muscle.”
Dern knows she is better prepared for their second fight, which was pushed back from Dec. 14. She believes not only that her camp was exponentially better this time — she has since realized her sparring partners for the first Ribas fight were probably being kind and not going too hard against her — but the former Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion trusts she has grown more as a complete fighter.
Not to discount Ribas, whom Dern sees as a tough and dangerous opponent.
“She’s always been game. She’s someone who for sure has experience with different fighters and lots of different styles, but I think I’ve gained a lot more experience like in striking, you know?” Dern said. “I think the grappling, I don’t think she’s gotten her grappling up to where I’ve gotten my striking up, you know? So I think I’ve evolved more in the last five years.”
Dern is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Loopy Godinez in August, a necessary outcome after her wildly entertaining Fight of the Night unanimous-decision loss to Amanda Lemos – a bout Dern accepted on just four weeks’ notice – at UFC 298 in February at Honda Center resulted in the first two-fight skid of her career.
Not only was she able to get Godinez to the mat and exploit an advantage Dern has over almost any strawweight – no 115-pounder can top her four submission victories in the UFC – but she more than held her own on the feet.
“I was coming from two losses back to back, so it was really important to me to get through that. And it just gave me my confidence back, saying, like, ‘Hey, I can strike with some strikers,’” Dern said. “You know, of course, that’s not going to be the way I want to go to every single time. I prefer to get to the ground where it’s my most comfortable. But, yeah, I think I with Lupita, I really kind of got that composure and I felt like, ‘OK, this is what it feels like to be comfortable.’”
Ribas is coming off a unanimous-decision loss to former champion Rose Namajunas in March, so Dern knows all too well how much Ribas wants to avoid a losing streak.
Dern is thrilled to be in a main event again, especially since it will be a five-rounder — “I feel like way more time to find my understanding, to find my distance and things like that,” she said — and now that her two-fight skid is over, she seeks her first consecutive victory in nearly four years.
“My goal is just to beat her in all areas, just kind of get her frustrated, not let her get in her rhythm and just have a great performance,” Dern said.
UFC Fight Night 249: Dern vs. Ribas
When: Saturday
Where: UFC Apex, Las Vegas
How to watch: ESPN+ (prelims 1 p.m.; main card 4 p.m.)