Following historic submission win Mackenzie Dern says her next goal is to become mom champ

Following her big win at UFC on ESPN 9 this weekend, Mackenzie Dern has set her sights on becoming a “mom champ” in the promotion.

Dern put in an incredibly impressive showing on Saturday night as she secured a kneebar submission win over Hannah Cifers. The first round triumph earned Dern a Performance of the Night bonus, and it also got her back in the win column after her loss to Amanda Ribas back in October 2019.

In her post-fight press conference, Dern made her intentions over the course of the next few years very clear – especially now that her husband is able to spend so much time with their daughter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’m so happy with my performance. I knew that Hannah wasn’t an easy girl,” Dern said (via MMA Junkie). “She’s so tough and I didn’t want to get too much in the clinch with her and be in a brawling situation. So when I was in the clinch, I knew I was going to feel her strength and her muscles. As soon I was able to get the takedown, even though I was on bottom, the coaches said, ‘Don’t pull guard. If you’re on the bottom that’s fine, but don’t pull guard.’ So I got the takedown, went on bottom, and I was happy she wasn’t defending the leg much.”

“I definitely want to take advantage that his events are off and can stay with my daughter, and (I can) train hard and fight on ‘Fight Island’ or wherever the next fight is and get the win streak going,” Dern added. 

Mackenzie Dern currently holds a 3-1 record in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and while she may not be considered championship material just yet, plenty of fans tend to believe that she could go on to do some big things in MMA — and in the UFC, in particular.

It’s all about giving Dern the right path towards a potential title shot, but as we all know, it isn’t quite as simple as that. In boxing, it may be easier to put forward a string of favorable fights in order to build someone up. In mixed martial arts, it just doesn’t work that way.

Dern’s fanbase is one of the biggest things she has going for her, and it’ll be interesting to see if and how that continues to grow – and whether or not she can stay as active as she claims she wants to be. That being said, her win at UFC on ESPN 9 reminded that her skills are no joke.