Mackenzie Dern looks to break into the top ten ranked UFC strawweights with a win over Nina Ansaroff on Saturday.
Dern faces the number five ranked UFC strawweight in Ansaroff and the two women share the common bond of being young mothers that are also fighters. While Ansaroff may be above Dern in the rankings, Dern has more experience in returning to competition after becoming a mother. She already has gone through re-entering competition after taking off for pregnancy and knows what it takes to get back on track.
“I’m so excited,” Dern said when speaking to MMANews. “You know, because it’s going to be on ABC, we’re both moms like recent moms, and it’s cool. She’s number five in the rankings still and, even though I was, too, I’m like a little bit ahead of her, and I kind of know everything she’s going through.”
Dern has a point since she has now fought four times since the birth of her daughter, losing her first fight back against Amanda Ribas in 2019.
“I was just there like, seven months ago or ten months ago you know? So, it’s really going to be a great experience to fight her, said Dern. “We’ve always had like, a lot of respect for each other.”
Respect already earned, Ansaroff is where Dern wants to be and with her experience as a mother and the superior grappler, Dern believes her strength lies where everyone knows her best skills are on display. On the ground.
When asked how she thinks the fight will go, Dern predicted it would be a submission win for her. Dern feels Ansaroff has decent submission defense, but after having her nose injured in her previous fights, Dern feels is her path to the strawweight title is doing what she does best and then repeating the process ASAP.
“Hey, I want to fight a lot of times this year and get the belt,” Dern said. “So the less damage possible is better.”
Who do you think will emerge victorious when Mackenzie Dern faces Nina Ansaroff at UFC on ABC 2?
