JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Mackenzie Dern is so confident with her jiu-jitsu that she attempted something for the first time at UFC 273.
Dern (12-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) edged out Tecia Torres (13-6 MMA, 9-6 UFC) in Saturday’s pay-per-view main card, where her submission skills were on full display.
Although Dern wasn’t able to submit Torres, she latched onto her for a beautiful kimura in Round 2 and Torres spent the majority of the round defending dangerous submission attempts.
“With my fight with Marina (Rodriguez) I was second-guessing a lot of things, even my submissions. With Tecia I wasn’t,” Dern told reporters including MMA Junkie at a post-fight news conference Saturday. “I never pulled guard before in a fight, this was the first time.
“It was a risk I decided to make, but I thought the kimura was there, but yeah she’s physically fit and especially if you’re submission defense isn’t on point – the muscles around our joints, it’s good to be strong to protect your joints so I knew those armbars, foot locks and stuff like that will be harder with her.”
An ADCC and no-gi world champion with seven professional wins by submission, Dern has no doubt that she has the best jiu-jitsu in women’s MMA.
“100 percent,” Dern said. “Title-wise I know everyone in the jiu-jitsu world. I came into the UFC with the whole jiu-jitsu community behind me so I know 100 percent from the jiu-jitsu world I’m the best in MMA that made the transition. Of course with punches and time limit in the cage that changes our jiu-jitsu a little bit.
“But when you think of possibilities and what I bring to the table about jiu-jitsu – there are submissions that I know for sure most of the girls have never even heard of. So definitely I think my fight just pulling guard was the first time I ever did that, I think that’s gonna make the girls think a little bit differently.”
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