Mackenzie Dern Visualizes Her Moment of Glory – When Dana White Puts the Belt On Her at UFC 321
Mackenzie Dern enters UFC 321’s co-main event with a singular focus: securing the vacant women’s strawweight championship and validating her long-held belief in her own capabilities. As the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi prepares to host the event this Saturday, Dern has spent her fight week immersing herself in visualization exercises.
Mackenzie Dern Eyes Gold at UFC 321
In an interview with MMA Fighting, Mackenzie Dern explained:
“I’ve been visualizing getting my hand raised with Dana White and my daughter raising my hand with me. I feel prepared for that moment.”
The vacant strawweight title was relinquished by former champion Zhang Weili when she elected to move up to flyweight, leaving the belt available for the winner of Dern’s rematch against Virna Jandiroba. Dern and Jandiroba first met in 2020, when Dern earned a unanimous decision victory. Since that initial encounter, Jandiroba has compiled an eight-fight win streak, improving her ground-and-pound entries and striking defense in the process. Dern, meanwhile, has rebounded from two consecutive setbacks and recorded decisive wins over Lupita Godinez (armbar submission) and Angela Hill (five-round decision).
A decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, she has never been outgrappled in the octagon, though she has faced challenges against high-level strikers such as Amanda Lemos and Marina Rodriguez. Her preparation under coach Jason Pillo has focused heavily on blending her submission threat with improved takedown setups, a combination she believes will be decisive against Jandiroba.
Jandiroba is a potent wrestler with 22 professional victories, including nine by submission, and a record of 8-3 in UFC competition. Her ability to lock Dern in scrambles and control positional exchanges will test Dern’s evolved takedown defense. Yet Dern’s camp remains confident that her guard work and transitional submission game will neutralize Jandiroba’s wrestling base. The key, Dern emphasizes, will be tempo control.
Dern’s focus on mental readiness marks a departure from earlier stages of her career, when she spoke openly about not feeling prepared for a championship opportunity against Zhang Weili. Now, with gold on the line, Dern insists the psychological component has been her primary training area. By envisioning the precise moment her arm is raised alongside her daughter, she aims to convert visualization into reality.
