Mackenzie Dern Record: 16-5-0

Building a contender

Dern absorbed an honest lesson in 2019, dropping a unanimous decision to Amanda Ribas, but responded with a defining run of submissions that highlighted her elite grappling. She tapped Hannah Cifers with a slick kneebar, armbarred Randa Markos, outpointed Virna Jandiroba, and submitted Nina Nunes by armbar. A 2021 decision loss to Marina Rodriguez exposed the striking gap she needed to close, and she answered with a split-decision win over Tecia Pennington.

The road to gold

Dern's climb included setbacks that sharpened her: a five-round decision loss to Xiaonan Yan in 2022, a knockout defeat to Jéssica Andrade in 2023, and a decision loss to Amanda Lemos in 2024. But she remained one of the division's most dangerous finishers, bouncing back with a decision over Lupita Godinez and a third-round armbar of Amanda Ribas to avenge her earlier loss. That momentum carried her to UFC 321 in October 2025, where she outpointed Virna Jandiroba over five rounds to capture the UFC Strawweight Championship and complete her journey from grappling icon to UFC titleholder.

Fighting style

Dern's identity is her jiu-jitsu, among the very best the women's game has seen: relentless guard work, scrambles and a deep submission arsenal that has produced kneebars, armbars and chokes against UFC-level opposition. Of her 16 wins, eight are submissions and eight decisions, a 50% finish rate that understates how often she threatens the tap. Her honest weakness has long been her striking, and several of her losses came against opponents who kept the fight standing and out of her world on the mat. As her boxing and takedown entries have improved, she has learned to drag elite strikers into the grappling exchanges she dominates.

Career highlights

• UFC Strawweight Champion — defeated Virna Jandiroba over five rounds at UFC 321 to claim the title.
• Elite submission artist — eight of her wins by submission, including kneebar, armbar and rear-naked-choke finishes against Randa Markos and others.
• Decorated grappling pedigree — a world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who avenged her loss to Amanda Ribas with a third-round armbar.