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Mackenzie Dern doesn't think her fight against Marina Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 39 will go the distance.
No.4 contender Dern and No.6-ranked Rodriguez will headline this Saturday's UFC Fight Night. Both are coming off pretty solid victories earlier this year. It will be Mackenzie Dern's first ever UFC main event. The submission specialist is determined to make it count.
Speaking to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, Dern said she wanted to claim a dominant win against her compatriot and seal a strawweight title shot as soon as possible.
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"My first main event, finally it's here! I'm really excited to show that I'm ready for the belt. Marina is tough, she's a good striker. So it's the typical grappler vs. striker. Let's do it. I'm happy that my face will be on the poster. I don't think it'll go the five rounds. We've been training hard for five rounds for a long time, just in case there's a short-notice fight. So I just have to take advantage of all the eyes on me and the media."
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Catch MMA Fighting's interview with Mackenzie Dern ahead of UFC Vegas 39 below:
Dern holds an 11-1 record in her MMA career so far. She's won her last four bouts inside the octagon. Her only loss came against Amanda Ribas in October 2019.
Mackenzie Dern has the most submission wins among the UFC women's roster
Mackenzie Dern is tied with flyweight fighter Gillian Robertson as the woman with the most submission wins in UFC history. They have four such triumphs each.
Dern has fought seven times in the UFC and accumulated six victories. Out of those, she has won three using armbars, two via decisions and one using a rear-naked choke.
Mackenzie Dern is tied with China's Yan Xiaonan in the UFC women's strawweight rankings. Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Zhang Weili and champion Rose Namajunas are the fighters above her on the list.
Namajunas will defend her belt against former champ and number one contender Zhang at UFC 268 on November 6 in New York. With a win against Rodriguez, Dern will inch closer to a future title shot, or at least secure a title eliminator.
