UFC women's strawweight Mackenzie Dern revisited her last weight cut from her fight against Amanda Lemos on the preliminary card of UFC 298.
Dern took on Lemos on Feb. 17, 2024 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. She had a succesful weight cut and showcased a part of the process in her latest Instagram post.
Dern also expressed her joy at the presence of her daughter Moa at the weight cut. Moa, who is four years old, was born to Dern and her ex-husband Wesley Santos in 2019.
Dern wrote on Instagram:
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"125.8lbs —> 118lbs in about a hour, night before and the rest of the weight the day of, before weigh ins. The day of the fight I was at 128lbs. I felt great! The weight cut was smooth and this was the first time my daughter, Moa, watched (and understood) what was going on haha it definitely helped the weight cut vibes having Moa there with me!"
Check out Mackenzie Dern's post below on Instagram:
A curious fan asked Dern how fighters manage to rehydrate almost immediately after their grueling weight cuts. Dern responded by crediting the UFC with handling the process well and taking care of their athletes.
She wrote:
"the UFC gives us a lot of rehydration and recover foods and drinks. They have it all formulated to recover good."
Check out the fan's question and Dern's response below:
What happened in the Amanda Lemos vs Mackenzie Dern fight?
Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Lemos battled for three rounds at UFC 298 in a thrilling contest. Dern ultimately lost, as the judges ruled the bout in favor of Lemos with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28.
The exhilarating bout meant both fighters left the cage with Fight of the Night bonuses.
The loss marked Dern's third in her last four fights and pushed her down to No.8 in the strawweight contenders rankings. However, she was gracious in her statement on Instagram, wherein she congratulated her opponent and promised to work harder.
She said:
"“Fear defeats more people than any other one thing in the world” The results weren’t what I was hoping for! Thank you everyone for all the support! I love doing what I do! Now, it’s time to correct the mistakes and keep up the hard work! 💪🏼👊🏼 Congrats to @amandalemos_ufc for an amazing fight! FOTN for us! 🙏🏼"
Check out Mackenzie Dern's post on Instagram below: