Mackenzie Dern: “Imagine the type of beast I could become” — Talks Growth Mindset
Mackenzie Dern has come a long way.
Once upon a time, the former IBJJF and ADCC world champion was just a jiu-jitsu star trying to flex her skills inside a cage. Today, she’s a champion once again, having defeated Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 to capture the promotion’s vacant 115-pound title.
Dern’s performance, which saw her outstrike Jandiroba by a margin of 249 to 208, was not just the crowning of a new strawweight queen — it was the culmination of years of hard work and dedication to honing her skills and becoming one of the most well-rounded mixed martial arts inside the Octagon.
And the best is still to come.
“If I can get to the organization and everything I did for this camp, imagine the type of beast I could become,” Dern said during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show. “I trained this good for eight weeks, you know? Imagine I lived my whole life like this, just every day. Of course, I’m recovering right now, but I just feel weird not doing what I was doing the last eight weeks. I want to keep doing that more.
“If I can keep the organization and everything I did for this camp, and just keep it for six months, a whole year, three years, imagine the type of beast I could become.”
Mackenzie Dern is ready for her first challenger
What’s next for Dern remains to be seen, but the BJJ bombshell certainly isn’t shying away from taking on the baddest women in the division.
“I’m not gonna be like a baby champion,” Dern said. “I wanna be like whatever they [the UFC] want us to do — you know what I mean? We’ll be ready, and we’ll train for that. I wanna beat the best — I am the best right now, but I wanna be able to beat whoever is coming.
“…I think like probably someone with a win streak,” she said of her first title defense opponent. “I think (Zhang) Weili, even if she was to lose to Valentina (Shevchenko), but her win streak, like her being the former champion, that makes sense. And then, Tatiana (Suarez) is coming off a win.”
While Zhang Weili currently has her hands full, gearing up for a highly anticipated clash with Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322 on November 15, Suarez is coming off an impressive bounce-back victory over Amanda Lemos, solidifying her as the No. 2 ranked contender in the division.
