This weekend at the Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships in California, Mackenzie Dern picked up another gold medal. She defeated Karen Borges at Featherweight.
Despite her great success at black belt, Mackenzie has other plans.
With BJJ still being considered an amateur sport, many sport BJJ competitors look to transitioning to MMA. Examples of current top MMA fighters that came from sport Jiu-Jitsu: Jose Aldo, Fabricio Werdum, Ronaldo Jacare, Demian Maia, Bibiano Fernandes etc..
2015 was an amazing year for Mackenzie Dern. She won the Pan, World Pro at weight and Absolute, the Worlds, silver at Europeans and gold at ADCC!
At only 22, Mackenzie Dern is going to transition to MMA. Last week, Dern signed a deal with Legacy FC and will make her MMA debut July 22 in Dallas, Texas.
In this interview with Tatame, Dern revealed that she will still compete at the World Pro in April and IBJJF World in the end of May before finally making her MMA debut at the end of July:
“The first part of the year will be for Jiu-Jitsu with the Pan, World Pro and Worlds. I’m training my striking and Wrestling also. The second part of the year will be more focused on MMA.We’ll see what happens in 2017”
Dern currently trains at The MMA Lab with Tanquinho and Benson Henderson.
For her MMA debut, Dern told <a href=”http://www.mmafighting.com/2016/3/17/11254494/bjj-star-mackenzie-dern-signs-with-legacy-fc-mma-debut-set-for-july” target=”_blank”>MMAFighting.com</a> that she will fight at 115 pounds. The opponent has yet to be announced.
