Mackenzie Dern has been through the ringer with the bjj community. Once adored champion who once scored a victory over almost twice her size – Gabi Garcia hit a snag when she started carrying the burden of being the biggest bjj prospect in mma.

Think pieces across MMA and BJJ media have suggested Dern could be ‘the next Ronda Rousey.’ At the very least, Dern is expected to have a solid fighting career in UFC. When asked whether this sort of fanfare and attention was welcome, Dern took a moment to think and responded to bloodyelbow.

“I just think it’s a little bit unrealistic,” she said, after a while.

“I don’t think girls were as aggressive with me as they would have been if I were unknown,” she said. “They were concerned more about the defense. And I know for sure in the UFC, the girls there, they don’t care; they’re going to try and beat me up. So I feel like, for me to get better, all the attention made it a little harder for me.”

“But I don’t really think about it too much; If people think that I’m so good or they think that I’m so bad,” added Dern. “I just try and think about what’s the best for me. I’ve done so much with jiu-jitsu. So I’m glad to take that attention with me to MMA, but for sure I want to be able to build my own story in MMA, with my own accomplishments as not just a jiu-jitsu fighter, but an all round MMA fighter, too.”

Welcome to @InvictaFights @MackenzieDern!!! Incredible performance! #InvictaFC26 pic.twitter.com/WozSRFUxlV

— UFC Fight Pass (@UFCFightPass) December 9, 2017

Dern locked up an armbar in the third round, forcing Medeiros to tap at the 4:45 mark. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt did well throughout, as she appeared to have won the first two rounds of the fight.

Latest victory makes Dern 5-0 in MMA!