Mackenzie Dern is officially a UFC champion.
The Brazilian jiu-jitsu star-turned-MMA standout completed a nine-year journey, defeating Virna Jandiroba in a hard-fought five-round contest in the co-main event of UFC 321 on Saturday to claim a vacant strawweight belt. This is the second win for Dern over Jandiroba after she won a decision over the Brazilian in December 2020.
This time, there was gold on the line, with Zhang Weili having vacated the belt to chase flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. With the dominant Zhang out of the way, Dern and Jandiroba got their shot,and it was Dern who did enough to claim victory on the scorecards.
Afterwards, an emotional Dern celebrated with her daughter Moa, a scene that drew praise from analyst Alan Jouban,
“Beautiful moment with her daughter there,” Jouban wrote on social media.
See more reactions from social media below.
Source link
