Mackenzie Dern believes it is her destiny to become a UFC champion in Abu Dhabi, a city in which she has enjoyed great success during her jiu-jitsu and MMA career.
The Brazilian takes on countrywoman Virna Jandiroba for the vacant women’s strawweight title in the co-main event at UFC 321 in the UAE capital on Saturday.
The symbolism is hard to ignore. Dern won her first Abu Dhabi World Pro gold medal 10 years ago, stunning the grappling world by defeating nine-time women’s world champion Gabrielle Garcia in the semi-finals on her way to winning the absolute class.
Fast forward a decade and she is preparing to fight for more gold, this time in the form of the strap vacated by Zhang Weili.
“It’s kind of a full-circle moment, yeah, 100 per cent," said Dern. "I was talking about it at the start of the year before I fought Amanda Ribas, I said: ‘Man, could you imagine if I fight for the belt in 2025 and I won the world title?' You know, I won the world title in jiu-jitsu in 2015 and then it was like, exactly 10 years later."
The parallels do not end there.
"That would be amazing, because I won the world title in 2015, I won my Abu Dhabi world title, which was my first world title, black belt, on April 25, 2015, here in Abu Dhabi, and I'm fighting October 25, 2025, in Abu Dhabi for another world title," added the 32-year-old.
"I was already imagining how crazy this would be. And it really did happen. And, I mean, you can't plan things like that, you know, like the exact day, the 25th, this location. Before this, I was like, I would like to fight in Brazil, that would be amazing. And then they [the UFC] said, 'No, Abu Dhabi'. So I really think it's destiny.”
It feels like the world has been talking about United States-born Dern as a potential UFC champion since she made the full-time switch to MMA in 2016.
And now here she is, on the cusp of joining the legendary Fabricio Werdum as the only athletes to win world titles in Abu Dhabi Combat Club and the UFC, the world’s leading grappling organisation and the world’s premier mixed martial arts promotion.
There have been setbacks. Five defeats in 20 fights is good but not stellar. There have been broken noses, injuries, critics and self-doubt. An elite grappler, Dern has had to learn that those skills, considerable as they are, only carry you so far in a multi-combat sport. But through it all, Dern has faced adversity head-on.
Part of that learning curve involved matching up with Jandiroba 11 fights into her MMA career. Dern won that contest via unanimous decision.
Both have improved considerably since that first meeting. Dern has won her last two fights, while Jandiroba rides a five-fight win streak heading into Saturday’s co-main event.
Although Dern does not think their first fight will have any bearing on their next, she is confident of the same outcome.
"I don't know what the result will be exactly on Saturday, but I really believe that the stars are aligned," she said.
"I did all my work in these 10 years. And it's not just those 10 years. Obviously, I've been training since I was five years old, so this is a long time coming, and I feel like now is the time. And to be here in Abu Dhabi, with so many great results, I've never had a bad experience here. I don't plan on having a bad experience on Saturday.
“I don’t really see how she is going to beat me in grappling. If she knocks me out or submits me, then congratulations to her, but I’ve not trained my whole life to get to this moment to throw it all away.
“There’s a way for her to do it strategically, or by points [decision], but I’m not going to let that happen. I really feel I’m going to be comfortable against her wherever the fight goes. I’ll just keep pushing forward. I’m not scared of the brawls, I’m not scared to do whatever I need to do to win.”
