UFC star Mackenzie Dern has explained wanting to give back to jiu-jitsu as she prepares to battle for the vacant UFC strawweight championship.
At UFC 321, Mackenzie Dern will finally get a shot at UFC gold when she battles Virna Jandiroba in the co-main event of the evening. It's been a long journey to get to this point for Dern, but given how much she's gone through both in and outside of the cage, it's hard not to be happy for her.
Of course, it's not going to be a walk in the park. Mackenzie Dern knows better than most how tough Jandiroba is, and while she did manage to defeat her back in their first meeting five years ago, both women have changed a great deal in that time.
Ahead of fight night, Mackenzie Dern spoke openly about wanting to give back to the world of jiu-jitsu in a recent interview.
Mackenzie Dern wants to give back to jiu-jitsu
“When I made the transition to MMA 10 years ago, I was doing it just to see if I would like it. I really wanted to represent jiu-jitsu on a bigger platform than just our jiu-jitsu community. The best way to give back to jiu-jitsu was to be able to represent it in MMA, where the Roy Gracie won the very first UFC.”
Get ready, folks, because Dern is coming into this one as motivated as she's ever been - and that should make for a pretty fun title fight.
