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Mackenzie Dern faced Montana De La Rosa in the second MMA bout of her career at Legacy FC 61. Prior to that, Dern earned a unanimous decision win over Kenia Rosas at Legacy FC 58.
Montana De La Rosa was 6-2 in her professional career and rode a six-fight winning streak into her bout against Mackenzie Dern. De La Rosa had also finished four of her opponents via submission.
Mackenzie Dern overwhelmed De La Rosa with her jiu-jitsu, earning a highlight-reel submission win at 03:25 of the opening round. The Arizona-born Brazilian transitioned from an attempted triangle into a modified Imanari choke, forcing a tap from De La Rosa.
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Watch Mackenzie Dern's modified version of the Imanari choke below:
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Mackenzie Dern's next fight
Mackenzie Dern will face No.6-ranked Marina Rodriguez in the UFC Vegas 39 main event this weekend. It will be the first UFC headliner for Dern. Rodriguez, meanwhile, will be competing at the top of a UFC card for the second time. Her previous clash with Michelle Waterson served as the main event for UFC Vegas 26.
Currently riding a four-fight winning streak, Mackenzie Dern believes a win against Marina Rodriguez will definitely put her in title contention.
The skilled jiu-jitsu practitioner claimed that she is ready to go the distance in a stand-up battle against Rodriguez. However, Dern says she'll definitely try to take the fight to the ground and earn an early submission win without taking much damage. Dern told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports:
"I'm so happy. Like you said, it's my first main event. So it definitely will be the perfect platform and opportunity for me to really show if I'm ready to get the belt. I think I'm looking at this fight like it's about, it's definitely like if I win this, I think I'm next in line. So, like you said, striker versus grappler, real striker versus grappler. People ask me like, 'Oh, you're going to try to test your striking with Marina?' Man, I don't have feelings like that. Of course, I'm confident. If I need to go off five rounds striking, hey, I'm ready to do it. But hey, I see the way to win this fight is by grappling and take to the ground, finish fast, get the win, no injuries, no elbows, no cuts, no broken noses and get paid and go home."
