Mackenzie Dern‘s next UFC fight will be on May 13, a strawweight bout against Angela Hill.
This time, she has decided to shift her mindset when it comes to fighting in the octagon.
Specifically, Dern is now eager to play it “smarter”… To not focus solely on getting the finish, but also on winning the round.
She explained this mindset shift in a recent interview with “The Schmo“:
I’ve corrected a lot of things… I’ve learned so much from my last fight, it was a close fight.
But I think that I’m going into this fight with a lot more [understanding of] the rules.I understand that MMA has rules to it, that it’s not just about “submit, submit, submit” and “finish, finish, finish”. It’s much more about winning each round.
And the submission comes as a consequence of all that. So, [I am] a little bit smarter as a fighter now.
Dern will focus on position first, without overcommitting to submissions:
I think the most important lesson is just not to rely too much on, like: “I’m going to get the submission in the next transition.”
Like, hold the position, don’t lose the position.
Don’t think: “The next one, next one, next one…”I’ll go for an Armbar and stay on the Armbar. And if I don’t get it, at least I’ll stay on top and win the round.
