Mackenzie Dern Biography: Mackenzie Lynne Dern Santos is a professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner from the United States and Brazil. She is a former world No. 1 IBJJF competitor who is 6th in the female divisions. She has the ADCC and no-gi BJJ World Championships. As per the updates in 2024, she is ranked 7th position in the UFC women’s strawweight rankings. Check out this entire article to learn everything about her.
Mackenzie Dern Biography
Mackenzie Dern was born in Arizona on March 24, 1993, the daughter of grappling competitor Wellington “Megaton” Dias. She spent her childhood traveling back and forth between Arizona and her father’s birthplace Brazil. Dern speaks English and Portuguese fluently.
She has said that Portuguese has been her first language, noting that “both my father and stepmother are Brazilian.” My guy is fluent in Portuguese. I speak Portuguese rather than English. Of course, I continue interacting in English. But I think everything about fighting is in Portuguese in my head, and I dream in Portuguese.
She started her training at the age of three and she used to practice with her father and stepmother who is also a black belt and her name is Luciana Tavares. Mackenzie Dern started competitively at a very young age. Then she started competing in the adult divisions when she turned 14 years old.
She won a world championship in every single belt level as she got progressed to black belt rank. Because of her six 1st place finishes at the Asian Open, she is the only female Jiu-Jitsu competitor to have won Gold Medals.
Mackenzie Dern Wiki
| Name | Mackenzie Dern |
| Date Of Birth | March 24, 1993 |
| Age | 31 (as of 2024) |
| Birth Place | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Height | 5ft 4inch |
| Weight | 52Kg |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Profession | Mixed Martial Artist |
| Net Worth | $1 Million |
| Car Collection | N/A |
Mackenzie Dern’s Personal Life
Mackenzie Dern was married to Wesley Santos, a professional surfer. Dern said in February 2019 that she had paused her MMA career due to pregnancy. Moa, her daughter, was born on June 9, 2019. They divorced in 2022. Dern openly accused Santos of physical assault after going through the divorce process.
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Mackenzie Dern’s Net Worth
Mackenzie Dern has an estimated net worth of $1 million.
Mackenzie Dern MMA Career
Dern was scheduled to debut in mixed martial arts at Legacy FC 58 against Kenia Rosas. She won her debut with a unanimous decision. At Legacy FC 61, Dern was scheduled to face Montana De La Rosa. The fight was initially planned at strawweight but was changed to catchweight after Dern missed weight by 2.8 pounds. She won the contest by submission in the first round.
Dern was scheduled to compete against Katherine Roy at LFA 6. Dern missed weight by four pounds for the second time in a row, causing her to forfeit 20% of her allowance. She was declared the winner by a unanimous decision. Dern moved up to flyweight for her fourth professional fight, which was scheduled to take place at LFA 24 against Mandy Polk. She defeated Polk by a rear-naked choke in the first round. Dern signed with Invicta Fighting Championship in November 2017 after going 4–0 in her first four professional bouts.
Mackenzie Dern UFC Career
Dern made her promotional debut on March 3, 2018, at UFC 222 against Ashley Yoder. A split decision decided the bout. Dern fought Amanda Cooper at UFC 224 on May 12, 2018. Dern weighed 123 pounds at the weigh-ins, 7 pounds over the strawweight non-title fight maximum of 116 pounds. So the fight continued at catchweight, and Dern received 30 percent of her purse. Dern won the fight via submission in the first round with a rear naked choke.
Dern fought Amanda Ribas on October 12, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 19, following a maternity leave absence. A unanimous decision in the fight defeated her. Dern was expected to face Ariane Carnelossi at UFC Fight Night 173 on April 25, 2020. Due to travel restrictions, Carnelossi had to withdraw from the fight.
On April 25, 2020, Dern was scheduled to face Hannah Cifers. On April 9, the promotion announced the delay of this event. Woodley fought Burns on May 30, 2020, on UFC on ESPN: Woodley vs. Burns. Dern won the fight with a kneebar in the first round, becoming the first woman in UFC history to complete a fight with any leg hold. This victory earned her the award for Performance of the Night for the first time.
Dern is set to fight former UFC Strawweight Champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 295 on November 11, 2023. She stayed 7 yeas away from the sport, and now in 2024, she has again made her comeback. She has announced her official return to professional grappling competition in 2024. Mackenzie Dern was invited to compete in the under 55kg division of the 2024 ADCC World Championship.
