Mackenzie Dern has had her next UFC fight announced for an as-yet unnamed event in April, where she will face off against Nina Ansaroff. Most recently, Dern fought off a stiff challenge from fellow BJJ black belt Virna Jandiroba at UFC 256 and managed to earn a Unanimous Decision victory and hand Jandiroba what was only her second professional loss. This marked the end of a fantastic year for the ADCC and IBJJF world champion as she managed to right the ship and launch a solid comeback after her receiving first professional loss to Amanda Ribas in 2019.
Beating Jandiroba was Dern’s third professional win since that loss after she racked up back-to-back first round submission wins over Hannah Cifers and Randa Markos. Ansaroff meanwhile, has not been able to compete at all in 2020 after losing her only fight in 2019 against Tatiana Suarez at UFC 238. This loss snapped a four-fight winning streak that Ansaroff managed to put together throughout 2017 and 2018 that ended with the biggest victory of her career over Claudia Gadelha.
ESPN reported that Dern will be taking a little time away from the sport after suffering a minor break in her nose in her last fight against Jandiroba. This shouldn’t effect her next fight against Ansaroff however as it has been arranged for April 2021, which gives her ample time to recover from surgery and get back into a fight camp for her first crack at the top 5 of the UFC Strawweight division.
The full card that features Mackenzie Dern and Nina Ansaroff will be available to watch on UFC FightPass, click here to subscribe and watch.