It has been confirmed that Mackenzie Dern will be entering the octagon in early 2018. The bjj world champ started out at LFA quickly working through her opponents which lead to signing with invicta but it’s looking like she’s ready to take on her biggest challenge yet.
Sean Shelby, UFC match maker has recently confirmed the news. Dern herself remains silent for now.
Earlier this month she revealed they’d already had talks with the UFC.
“My manager has had contact with the UFC — with several organizations, in fact,” Dern said. “So, yes, we’ve already had talks with the UFC, but there is nothing confirmed as far as a debut in the UFC yet. That’s all I can say about that.” – Dern said adding:“I’m really looking forward to what’s going to happen in 2018. For now, I’m going to stay in the U.S. because I don’t know what next year will bring. If I end up with the UFC, then I’ll stay in the U.S., but I’ll come to Brazil whenever I can. My ultimate goal is to be UFC champion and to have that belt.”
Her game is also changing which can be challenging when it comes to only grappling as evidenced by the ADCC upset:
“I think my game is maturing a lot,” Dern said. “In my first fight, I didn’t finish my opponent, and neither in my third fight. I’m trying to mix it up a lot, and I think I’m really growing a lot as an athlete and a fighter. I’m maturing, and my team is helping me a lot with that. I continue to train jiu-jitsu every day, same with standup. I think we’re on the right track.
“I feel that with every fight, I’m getting more confident, and that’s very important for an athlete and makes all the difference. So, if I continue like this, with confidence and an open mind, I think it’ll be all right.”
