A strawweight showdown between Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez is coming soon.
ESPN revealed Friday that there is now a date in place for Mackenzie Dern’s bout against Marina Rodriguez, as the two will headline the October 9 Fight Night card.
Mackenzie Dern is ranked #5 in the strawweight division and is currently riding a four-fight winning streak. What’s more, three of the four victories have come by way of first-round submission for the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. In her most recent outing, it was Nina Nunes who fell victim to Dern’s submission prowess, with Dern snagging the first-round armbar victory. A fifth win in a row could put Dern right in the thick of title contention.
#6-ranked Marina Rodriguez is also on a winning streak after being victorious in her last two bouts. One of those victories came over the only fighter to defeat Dern, Amanda Ribas. Rodriguez handed Ribas her first loss in the UFC and then followed that up with a win in his first UFC main event over Michelle Waterson.
Rodriguez had hoped for a fight against Joanna Jędrzejczyk, but the former strawweight champ Jędrzejczyk has expressed that she is not interested in this pairing. Whether that bout was ever offered to Jędrzejczyk or not, Rodriguez has a different dance partner lined up in the surging Mackenzie Dern.
With the main event now in place, here is the updated lineup for the October 9 Fight Night card:
Mackenzie Dern vs. Marina Rodriguez
Felipe Colares vs. Chris Gutierrez
