Mackenzie Dern put on a spectacular show at UFC Vegas 61. She competed against Yan Xiaonan, the Chinese national who is a #6 ranked UFC strawweight athlete.
However, despite being persistent with submission attempts, Dern didn’t manage to tap Xiaonan – who won via majority decision.
In a post-fight interview, Mackenzie praised her opponent for being a better fighter:
My goal was if I got it to the ground I should be finishing it, you know.
I have the best Jiu-Jitsu I believe in the women’s division, so I had a lot of opportunities to finish. And she was just a better fighter than me.
Dern knew that she would have to either break her opponent’s arm or put her to sleep in order to get the tap:
No. I knew that I was going to have to break her arm or put her to sleep.
You know, she’s tough… She’s a tough girl, I knew she wasn’t going to tap easily… And standing, she hits hard.
She was full of emotions as well, thanking everyone who supported her:
I just want to say – thank you. Thank you to everyone who cheer for me.
I messed up and Yan did so good. She’s tough guys, she’s really tough… I’m learning, you know. I’m learning on the spot, and I’m going to be a champion, I’m going to be a champion one day.
I’ve just got to learn. I tried my best. I really tried. I just need to get better… I’ll be back. I’ll be back stronger.
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