In Photos: Mackenzie Dern makes up for lost time with daughter by taking her to Abu Dhabi for UFC Fight Night clash on Aug. 3
For Mackenzie Dern, making up for lost time with her daughter is as important as making strides in her career. The No.7 ranked strawweight challenger is scheduled to take on Loopy Godinez on Aug. 3, 2024, at UFC Abu Dhabi.
A previously undefeated fighter till October 2019, Dern's path has been challenging, with a compiled 6-4 record since the unanimous decision loss to Amanda Ribas. Outside the octagon, she continues to grapple with personal struggles, characterized by a bitterly contested divorce with ex-husband Wesley Santos.
It is clear that Dern wants to put the past to rest and every fight is a new chapter in that trajectory. Most recently, she shared pictures with her daughter Moa from the airport, as the Brazilian star prepares to overturn a two-fight losing skid with a victory over Godinez in the upcoming event. She captioned the post:
"After two fights without my girl, we are on another mission together! Such a blessing having you by my side on this adventure! Let’s go, baby! Abu Dhabi!"
Check out the post below:
Dern's divorce transpired to be a highly publicized matter. According to court documents, Dern is judicially mandated to pay her ex-husband $4,000 per month in alimony. Moreover, since the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, their assets were divided equally. The couple also agreed to joint custody of their daughter, with Dern as the primary physical custodian, and Santos claiming visitation rights.
When Mackenzie Dern emphasized the consequences of her divorce
It's clear that Mackenzie Dern wants to establish a routine that restores the dominant status that established her as a force to be reckoned with in the UFC.
However, the past couple of years have been a challenging period of trial and error for her, as she grapples with the emotional upheaval of divorce while seeking a career resurgence. Reflecting on the tumultuous divorce with her ex-husband ahead of UFC 295, she said:
“I realized we always have problems. Just the pressure. The last one I went through was the divorce. The divorce is final but you don’t realize how much aftermath there is to it. Literally, this whole fight is still paying my ex. It’s crazy, I have to get punched in the face and you work so hard and you do all this and you have to like pay that much of something."
Catch Dern's comments below: