Chael Sonnen cites parallels between Mackenzie Dern-Megaton Dias and Floyd Mayweather Jr and Sr before UFC 330

Mackenzie Dern is revered not only for her extraordinary Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu career, but also for her success as a crossover athlete. The American-Brazilian fighter has forged a legacy in the sport of MMA after her amazing BJJ run. 

Dern hails from a family of martial artists, as her father happens to be BJJ great Wellington "Megaton" Dias. 

On that note, MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen has now emphasized how the Dern-Megaton duo bears resemblance to that of former professional boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Sr. 

Chael Sonnen compares Mackenzie Dern and Wellington "Megaton" Dias to the team of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Sr.

Taking to his official YouTube channel, former UFC middleweight and light heavyweight title challenger Chael Sonnen addressed Mackenzie Dern's next fight, a co-headlining match at this Saturday's UFC 330 event. 

"The American Gangster" spoke about Dern having gotten the opportunity to learn from one of the very best in the grappling-centric martial art of BJJ. Sonnen also made an allusion to how Floyd Mayweather Sr., a legendary boxing trainer, mentored and turned his son Floyd Mayweather Jr. into one of the greatest fighters ever in the striking-centric martial art of boxing. 

Sonnen stated, "'Megaton' Wellington is the father of Mackenzie Dern. So much like Floyd Mayweather (Jr.) was able to come up second generation -- like, you could just move the coffee table, your dad, who lives there, is your coach. And you've got this built-in workout, and it just gives a leg up."

He added, "There's really nothing you can do when you gotta deal with a second-generation boxer, when you gotta deal with a second-generation fill-in-the-blank. So Mackenzie has the same thing, where they can move the coffee table, and 'Megaton' could show her." 

Sonnen opined that not many people have picked up on this similarity between Dern-Megaton and the Mayweather father-son duo. He even pointed out how BJJ extraordinare Rickson Gracie ascended to greatness in that art, courtesy of learning it organically during mundane household interactions with father Helio Gracie rather than being forced into it. 

"The Bad Guy" further cited that the similarity didn't stop merely at training, but also saw Floyd Mayweather Sr. and "Megaton" Dias turn their respective children into world champions. Mayweather Jr. earned the honor of being a five-division champion in his pro boxing career. Meanwhile, Dern won multiple BJJ world titles and found MMA success as well by notching the UFC strawweight title. 

Sonnen said, "I very much like the comparison of Floyd Mayweather Sr. to Floyd Mayweather Jr. That is exactly what happened. And now 'Megaton' Wellington has caused his daughter to be the champion of the world." 

Watch Chael Sonnen discuss the success that the father-daughter duo of Megaton-Dern has had akin to the father-son team of the Mayweathers below (*comments at the 2:50-minute mark of the video): 

Mackenzie Dern stars in highly anticipated fight against Gillian Robertson at UFC 330; Floyd Mayweather Jr. has recently faced a few setbacks

Mackenzie Dern is scheduled to make her first defense of the UFC women's strawweight title, as she stars in a much-awaited title clash against Canada's Gillian Robertson at UFC 330 on August 15. 

Dern won UFC gold in her latest Octagon outing, which came last October, outpointing Virna Jandiroba to capture the vacant strawweight belt. She's known to share a close bond with her father, Wellington "Megaton" Dias, whose teachings are said to have guided her throughout her athletic career. 

As for Floyd Mayweather Jr., he retired from professional boxing after defeating UFC icon Conor McGregor, who crossed over to boxing for their big-money fight, back in 2017. "Money" Mayweather, during certain phases, had a tumultuous relationship with his father, Mayweather Sr. Regardless, their cooperation in regard to boxing is often noted as something to behold.

In fact, Mayweather Jr. publicly hailed Mayweather Sr. as the "best trainer ever" and lauded him as a human being, too, while wishing him on his 73rd birthday back in March. 

Nevertheless, on the legal front, the 50-0 pro boxing veteran has experienced a few setbacks this year. Per ESPN, he faced a lawsuit from CSI Sports Events in relation to his expected exhibition boxing match against Mike Tyson and a return to professional boxing in a rematch against Manny Pacquiao, neither of which fights came to fruition. 

Elsewhere, Mayweather Jr. was also embattled by a pair of felony charges over an allegedly bad check he wrote for a $200k watch in Las Vegas back in 2024. The case came to the fore this year when the supposed private attempts to settle the legal dispute failed.

"Money" Mayweather was also hit with civil suits in four U.S. states, comprising multiple allegations that entailed purported non-payment of services and goods. UFC CEO and president Dana White recently affirmed that he's open to possibly helping Mayweather Jr. with his reported financial struggles and legal rigmarole.