Mackenzie Dern has made her way to a top 15 spot on the UFC strawweight rankings and two 115-pounders aren’t amused.
Dern was victorious in her bout against Amanda Cooper at UFC 224. Dern won the bout via first-round submission. She missed weight by 7.5 pounds and was basically a flyweight going into the bout.
Despite drawing a lot of criticism for missing weight by a large margin, Dern was rewarded with the 15th spot on the official UFC strawweight rankings. This means that she earned her spot by edging Ashley Yoder and defeating Cooper with a significant weight advantage.
Angela Hill, who was bumped off the rankings due to Dern’s push up, wasn’t happy about the change and took to Twitter to vent:
Well this is a big fat slap in the face. I’ve fought top competition, beat #14 and the rankings finally grace me with #15 ranking, just to get bumped by a fucking Flyweight. pic.twitter.com/ZYlP5Ogs6w
— Angela Hill (@AngieOverkill) May 17, 2018
Eighth ranked strawweight Felice Herrig chimed in and agreed with Hill:
Hill defeated Maryna Moroz via unanimous decision in her last outing. At the time, Moroz was the 14th ranked strawweight. This gave Hill her first crack at UFC rankings. That fight was just three months ago and she’s seen her spot taken without even competing.
Dern has had weight issues in the past. She failed to reach the strawweight limit twice before making her UFC debut. Even then, many questioned whether or not Dern was being unprofessional and if she should move up to flyweight. Now, it seems some are even wondering if Dern is taking her career as a professional mixed martial artist seriously.
Does Mackenzie Dern deserve her spot on the UFC strawweight rankings?