Mackenzie Dern promises Marina Rodriguez fight will be better than Johnny Walker vs. Thiago Santos

UFC women’s strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern promised the Marina Rodriguez fight will be better than Johnny Walker vs. Thiago Santos.

Dern takes on Rodriguez in the five-round women’s 115lbs headliner of this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 39 card. This is an important fight in the division as both Dern and Rodriguez are closing in on a title shot, so an impressive win could very well earn them a crack at the belt. But more than anything, Dern says she just wants to put on a good fight for the fans.

Last weekend, the main event of UFC Vegas 38 was a dull fight between Santos and Walker that went to decision. Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s fight against Rodriguez, Dern admitted that she was let down by the Walker vs. Santos fight, and she promised the fans that she will move forward against Rodriguez. Win or lose, Dern is promising the fans that she will put on a better fight than the light heavyweights did.

“I really like ‘Sledgehammer’ and Johnny Walker, I’m a friend of both, I support them both, but as an athlete, after seeing that fight, I could see that they were studying each other, with fear, there’s nothing like ours struggle to be worse than that. I was like, anything, our fight will be better. I fight forward,” Dern said (via AG Fight).

“Win or lose, I move forward. Marina starts a little slower because she studies, because she sees the opportunity, in the second and third rounds, which puts pressure on. I think this fight will be good. She will want to intimidate me with the standup and me wanting to press her to the ground. I think this fight will be very forward, it will be a show, for sure.”

Who do you think wins this weekend’s fight between Mackenzie Dern and Marina Rodriguez?