Mackenzie Dern has long been the most promising bjj/ mma female crossover. Not only is the talented bjj black belt a quick study but she’s also very young with plenty of room to improve.
”I felt like I was meant to be there,” Dern said in her first post fight interview. “I know that each fight I’m gonna be a better fighter, really enforced like, yeah, this is what I’m meant to do. I made the right decision to stop jiu-jitsu now and focus on this, and I’m excited for the next fight. Hopefully I can be at UFC in Rio (on May 12). I’m ready to get this black eye away and get back to training.”
Now the ratings are in and UFC has more reasons to rejoice:
Prelims before UFC 222 did 905,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1, and another 12,029 streaming, both major increases over the earlier show.
UFC debut of Mackenzie Dern with Ashley Yoder was the high point of the show with 1,076,000 viewers.
The show went against significant sports competition. ESPN had the University of North Carolina vs. Duke college basketball game at 3,369,000 viewers. The NBA on ABC had Boston vs. Houston doing 3,193,000 viewers. The NHL on NBC with Toronto vs. Washington did 1,107,000 viewers. – according to MMAfighting.com
Mackenzie Dern will get $25,000 to show and an additional $25,000 with a win, according to ESPN
Angela Hill meanwhile commented:
And then kept on commenting:
