What is the nationality of UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern?
Mackenzie Dern is an American UFC women's strawweight contender. She was born and brought up in Phoenix, Arizona. Dern is the daughter of renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner Wellington Dias.
Dias moved to the United States from Rio de Janeiro and is in charge of the Megaton BJJ Academy in Phoenix. He trained Dern during her early MMA days.
Mackenzie Dern is strongly influenced by Brazilian culture and is fluent in both English and Portuguese. Dern's accent has evolved over the years as she began frequently visiting Brazil.
Though many UFC fans have termed her accent 'fake,' Dern has maintained that she mostly speaks Portuguese in her household, especially after marrying Brazilian surfer and ex-husband Wesley Santos.
Here's the evolution of Mackenzie Dern's accent:
The 30-year-old Arizona native is currently ranked No.7 in the UFC strawweight division. She holds a win-loss record of 13-3 in her MMA career.
Mackenzie Dern to face Jessica Andrade at UFC 295
Mackenzie Dern has slowly emerged as a serious threat to the UFC strawweight title over the years. With her submission threat and constantly satisfactory striking game, she can put up great fights against divisional champions and top contenders.
However, Dern has hit a rough patch in her UFC career since breaking into the top ten of the division. She has lost two of her last five fights - against top contenders of the division like Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xianonan. However, Dern has held her own and defeated Angela Hill in her most recent fight that took place in May of 2023.
The 30-year-old is on the campaign for a strawweight title shot and will take on former champion Jessica Andrade on the UFC 295 main card. Having lost all three of her most recent fights via finishes, Andrade has been in a tough spot herself.
Since losing the UFC strawweight title to Zhang Weili in August 2019, Jessica Andrade has been experimenting with the strawweight and flyweight division to climb back to the champion's spot. However, a lopsided loss to former Valentina Shevchenko brought her flyweight championship hopes to a screeching halt.
However, Andrade brings devastating power and experiencce of competing at the highest level to the table which is a big threat for Mackenzie Dern going into the fight. UFC 295 PPV event will take place on November 11, 2023 at the iconic Madison Square Garden Arena in New York. The event will be headlined by the vacant light heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Jiri Prochazka.