Mackenzie Dern has done it again, the veteran BJJ black belt has racked up yet another submission win at UFC Vegas 23 and this time it’s one that will propel her into the top five of the Strawweight division. She was matched up against Nina Nunes (formerly Ansaroff) who came into the fight holding the number five position in the division’s rankings and recently made the decision to fight under her married name, as she is married to reigning Bantamweight and Featherweight World Champion, Amanda Nunes.
Nunes was looking to rebound from her recent loss to Tatiana Suarez by turning away the challenger Dern and working her way back into title contention. Unfortunately for her, Mackenzie Dern has her sights set on adding a UFC title to her long list of accomplishments on the mats and is more than happy to use her elite submission skills to make that dream a reality. Nunes wasn’t able to make it out of the first round as Dern took her down and transitioned to a tight armbar, forcing her to tap just 12 seconds before the end of the round.
This fight gives Dern her fourth consecutive victory after she recently won a tough fought match against another BJJ black belt, Virna Jandiroba. This was the only one of those four fights that required the use of the judge’s scorecards, as Dern has managed to submit all of the others, and a total of seven of her eleven wins. Footage of the armbar finish that earned Dern her third performance of the night bonus in just four fights was uploaded to the official Twitter account of the UFC:
Unstoppable on the ground 😤@MackenzieDern proves her jiu jitsu works on anyone! #UFCVegas23 pic.twitter.com/UP1Z74a6FY
— UFC (@ufc) April 10, 2021
