Why does Mackenzie Dern have an accent? UFC star's ethnicity and nationality explained

Mackenzie Dern has been a part of the UFC women's strawweight division since 2018. She signed with the promotion with a tremendous amount of hype behind her. First, she was an undefeated prospect whose elite grappling skills bore superficial similarities to Ronda Rousey, who had fallen from grace by then.

Dern's world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu credentials left many wondering if she was the second coming of 'Rowdy.' Secondly, she had a marketable physical appearance, just as Rousey had. However, as she continued fighting in the UFC, fans began to take greater note of something else: Mackenzie Dern's evolving accent.

The 115-pounder is a Brazilian-American, born in Phoenix, Arizona, the United States, to highly-regarded seventh-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu coral belt Wellington Dias. While information about her biological mother is hard to find, her stepmother is Brazilian judoka Luciana Tavares.

Dern initially spoke with an Arizonan accent, expected of any American born there. But at some point during her UFC career, her accent underwent a tremendous change into a stereotypical Brazilian accent. This drew significant scrutiny from fans online, who had heard her speak with an American accent before.

Mackenzie Dern's reasoning was simple, however. She grew up speaking Portuguese, alternated her time between the United States and Brazil, and often surrounded herself with Brazilians due to her father and stepmother's family and her ex-husband, Wesley Santos, who is also Brazilian.

Some fans, however, have responded to this by claiming that she has done more than change her accent. They have accused her of deliberately regressing her vocabulary and changing her sentence structure and English syntax, which she previously used flawlessly.

According to them, she did so to mimic the broken English spoken by Brazilians who are still learning the language, as opposed to simply speaking English with a Brazilian accent.

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Mackenzie Dern's last win

After entering the UFC as an undefeated and racking up two wins to extend her unbeaten record, Mackenzie Dern has suffered a few losses but has remained largely on the winning side. While she was handed a recent loss by potential title contender Yan Xiaonan, she bounced back with a win over Angela Hill.

Hill has been a staple of the lower WMMA weight classes in the UFC for years. Unfortunately, she has steadily declined as age caught up to her. She faced Dern back in May, losing a unanimous decision, with her opponent showing much improved striking skills and aggression.