In the freshman outing for the UFC in 2025, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist Mackenzie Dern (14-5 MMA, 9-5 UFC) will clash with Amanda Ribas (13-5 MMA, 7-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 249 in Las Vegas. Originally meant to compete against each other at UFC on ESPN 63, the pair was then suddenly rescheduled to headline the promotion’s first event of the new year.
UFC Comes Calling for Mackenzie Dern
Winning her first two bouts in the company over Ashley Yoder and Amanda Brundage (formerly Cooper), the then-undefeated Mackenzie Dern looked to be a promising prospect. However, she was then booted from the ranks of the unbeaten by Ribas in her next fight, falling to the Brazilian by unanimous decision.
Making her way into the UFC after winning two different professional titles on the regional scene (including the Jungle Fight Strawweight Championship), Ribas bulldozed her way through her first four opponents. This allowed the streaking Brazilian to set the table for the main card of UFC 257 opposite her countrywoman Marina Rodriguez, where she lost TKO in the second round. Competing most recently at UFC Vegas 89, dropping a unanimous decision defeat to former two-time 115-lb champion Rose Namajunas.
Currently ranked as the No. 6 contender at strawweight, a victory over the No. 8-ranked Ribas this Saturday will be not only the chance for her to defend her spot on the ladder, but also the opportunity to right the very first setback of her professional career. It also would serve as the ideal stepping stone that the Arizona native can use to stake her claim for a shot at the women in her division’s incredibly stacked top five.
A Life Raised On Mats Created Future Champion Mackenzie Dern
Born on March 24, 1993, Dern grew up training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under the tutelage of her father, Megaton Dias (aka Wellington Leal Dias Santos), who is now a seventh degree coral belt in the art, at just age three. Traveling frequently over the United States and her father’s home country of Brazil, Dern found herself with no shortage of different styles to learn from.
By the time she was only 14 years old, she had already begun to compete against grown women, winning world titles at every single belt level, eventually earning her black belt before she turned 20. She also defeated a Judo black belt by the name of Masumi Yagi on Japanese television.
Solid Run On Regional Scene Earns Mackenzie Dern Ticket To UFC
Forgoing an amateur career, Dern jumped straight into her journey as a professional MMA fighter on July 22, 2016, taking down Kenia Rosas at Legacy Fighting Championships 58. Over the next year, she wound up scoring another four victories, including a first round submission over future UFC fighter Montana De La Rosa. It was after a Performance of the Night-winning stoppage against Kaline Medeiros at Invicta Fighting Championships 26 that earned Dern her own shot at the big leagues. Making her UFC debut at UFC 222 in 2018, she just barely managed to eke out a close split decision, defeating the veteran competitor Ashley Yoder.
Although her time in the biggest mixed martial arts promotion on the planet got off to a rocky start, Dern impressed in her sophomore appearance by tapping out Amanda Brundage in just two minutes. However, the result was marred by the fact that she missed weight by seven pounds. This marked the third time in her tenure as a mixed martial artist that she failed to make weight, doing so two other times on the regional scene.
Mackenzie Dern’s First Defeat and Subsequent Warpath Through Division
Picking up two wins in her first two appearances in the UFC, along with a perfect 7-0 record, Dern had proved that she could compete with some of the top 115-lb fighters on earth.
Although she was clearly a prospect in the making, she wouldn’t make another appearance in the Octagon for more than a year following the birth of her daughter in June 2019. Not content with sitting on the sidelines for too long, Dern returned to action that October and locked horns with Amanda Ribas, who soundly trounced her American adversary with a trio of 30-27 scorecards.
While it may have been due to her body not yet having recovered from giving birth, or possibly the long layoff from competition, Mackenzie Dern had lost for the first time in MMA. As 2020 dawned upon the world, the sport was being massively affected by the burgeoning Covid-19 pandemic, with events being shut down left and right.
During such uncertain times, it should have been difficult for an aspiring UFC contender to get a proper win streak going, let alone fight, as their opponent could fall ill and drop out of the bout. For Mackenzie Dern, though, the pandemic was a chance to truly show how much of a world-class combatant she is, compiling a four-fight win streak and three performance bonuses in almost a year.
Mackenzie Dern Scratched Top-15, But the Road to Now Has Been Bumpy, Inconsistent
Now recognized as a bona-fide member of the strawweight top-15, Mackenzie Dern had completely moved on from the Ribas loss and was quickly making her way toward possible title convention. That was until she ran into Marina Rodriguez, who, at the time, had only lost just once in her career to former 115-lb champion Carla Esparza.
Although she had improved in spades after her first defeat, Dern was simply no match for the Brazilian, winning just one round the entire contest in the eyes of all three judges. From here, she encountered a great degree of inconsistency across her next six trips to the cage, going 3-3, with her victories coming against Tecia Pennington, Angela Hill, and Loopy Godinez.
Now residing just one rank away from the weight class’s top-5, Mackenzie Dern has a lot riding on the line in her rematch with Ribas. Should she manage to get the win over the American Top Team product, a showdown with one of the division’s utmost elite could very well be in the near future for her.
