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Mackenzie Dern Is Happy With Her UFC 222 Performance

March 5, 2018 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas

Mackenzie Dern spoke with MMA Fighting following her win over Ashley Yoder at UFC 222. The highlights are below:

On her performance in the fight: “I was happy with my performance, I didn’t think it was bad. I know that everybody wants me to submit quickly, but I’m here to show that I’m a complete athlete, to trade standing and go to the ground.”

On the end of the fight: “I think that when I decided ‘okay, I want to take her to the ground,’ I was able to take her and get her back and get the choke in. I think that the important part is knowing the risks I was taking, and having my chin down, see the punches coming. She was a southpaw and was taller than me, so that’s a distance I’m still not used to yet. I can take a lot of things from this fight to get better, but I think it was important to feel those three rounds in the UFC. I don’t want to get to the belt without ever going to a second or third round, without ever being in trouble in a fight, without ever being knocked down and being scared. I think it was a good experience to feel that now and gain that confidence standing.”

On getting knocked down in the fight: “I’ve been knocked down in training before, but my coaches always say that the punch that hurts is the punch that you don’t see coming, and this one I really didn’t see coming. When I realized I was already on the ground, in my mind I was like ‘get up, get up because you’re in the fight,’ so I got back up. I didn’t get scared or anything like that. I recovered quickly, but that’s experience, that’s part of the fight. I tried to knock her out as well and the fight went that way, but I think it was a good experience. It’s better to feel that now instead of getting to the title without ever experiencing anything like that.”

On waiting for the decision: “I ended the fight on her back, I thought she was going to tap, the choke was in, she was breathing hard, so I thought it was going to be 2-1 for me. But when they started to announce the split decision I got a little nervous, but I knew it could be anything in the judges’ eyes. I’m ready for that, but, of course, I don’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges ever again.”

On her next fight: “I don’t want the fast track to the top of the division, but I definitely wanna fight soon again. I’m all about fighting. I think the next person I fight will bring me different challenges. I think that that’s what I need to show the type of fighter I want to become. I don’t think think they are going to put me on a fast track to go to the title because I think I can help the UFC just as much as they can help me, you know? I think for sure they don’t wanna make bad matchups. I think I showed I have a lot of heart, I don’t mind (fighting) standing up or going to the ground, so I think they’ll take their time, but I’m ready to fight. I wanna fight again in May, Brazil.”

article topics :

Mackenzie Dern, UFC 222, Jeremy Thomas