Already a star in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world, there are hopes that Mackenzie Dern could be woman’s MMA’s next big star, and she lived up to the hype last night in her second professional fight against Montana Stewart at Legacy Fighting Championships 61 in Dallas, Texas.
Stewart was the more experienced competitor heading into the fight, holding a 5-2 record, and she was able to stuff Mackenzie’s early takedown attempts.
However, the 23 year-old Dern did finally get her down and looked for an armbar from full mount. Stewart managed to escape that, but Dern’s persistence finally paid off when she secured an omoplata, and then got creative during a resulting scramble by combining the shoulder lock with a rear-naked choke to force the tapout at 3.25mins of the first round.
If she keeps up this kind of form then it’s only a matter of time before Dern makes her way to the UFC’s strawweight division.
Dern, who’s the daughter of BJJ legend Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias, has previously said that she intends to fight three times this year and then hopes to sign with the UFC in 2017.
Check out Dern’s finish from last night below.
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