"He was always against" - Mackenzie Dern recalls how she got into MMA despite her father's disapproval

Mackenzie Dern has recalled how she got into MMA despite her father's disapproval.

During a recent conversation with Bally Sports West, Dern was asked about how she got into MMA. The UFC strawweight revealed that she was always around her father's jiu-jitsu while growing up and later decided to switch over to MMA.

Furthermore, Dern spoke about how her father didn't want her to compete in MMA and said:

"My dad had jiu-jitsu gym. So you know, it was like armbars and chokes... He was always against me doing MMA. He was like, 'No my daughter, she doesn't need to do it. You can be a model.' A lot of people said, 'Very few people have jiu-jitsu like you in MMA, you should try it.' So I made that jump."

Catch Mackenzie Dern's comments in the video below (1:10):

Dern was last seen inside the octagon back in November last year when she took on Jessica Andrade at UFC 295. She lost the bout via a second-round TKO.

For her next octagon outing, Dern will take on Amanda Lemos at UFC 298 on short notice after Lemos' previously scheduled opponent, Tatiana Suarez, withdrew from the fight.

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When Mackenzie Dern revealed she lost followers because of her now-divorced ex-husband

Mackenzie Dern once revealed that she lost around 20k followers on Instagram after posting a picture with her now-divorced ex-husband.

Back in February 2019, Dern took to Instagram to make a heartwarming announcement. She made it known that she was pregnant with her husband, Wesley Santos. However, she was shocked to find out that minutes after posting the picture, she had lost around 20k followers.

Speaking about it during an interview, Dern said (H/T Daily Mail):

"I lost 20,000 fans when I said I was pregnant and posted the first picture of my husband."

Furthermore, Dern spoke about how she gained her followers back after her daughter was born. Speculating that maybe more mothers have started to follow her on Instagram, she said:

"After Moa was born, I gained like 20,000 back, I think it's a new and different type of public. Maybe I have more mothers following me now. Maybe they're inspired by the story."