Makenzie Dern is pumped up for her rematch against Amanda Ribas the first UFC event of the year. However, looking back at the first time she clashed with Ribas, 5 years ago in 2019, the strawweight feels rather embarrassed.
Their 2019 fight was Dern’s third fight in the UFC and she got dominated by Ribas. When she rewatched the fight in preparation for the rematch, Dern realized she was doing so many things incorrectly, and making mistakes that she would not be making today.
“On like a personal level, I was like kind of embarrassed, like ‘Oh my gosh, look how I was throwing’, you know. Kind of didn’t really know what I was doing. Had a lot of heart… I felt like I held (my own) in there, actually… coming back from having a baby, and things like that. But like working so much on my takedowns and striking and just feeling comfortable in there.”
When Mackenzie Dern and Amanda Ribas first met in the Octagon…
Repeat or Revenge at #UFCVegas101 on Saturday?! pic.twitter.com/c458Rpbp2f
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) January 8, 2025
The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, however, feels that the times have changed and at 31 years old, she is a lot more patient and gets a better idea and feel of her opponents before making her own moves. Ranked 6 on the roster, she is already coming off of a win over Loopy Godinez in August and aims to prove that she can hang with the best that the UFC has to offer.
“This is my fourth main event… Now, I use the rounds to kind of like, feel the person and see what they are giving me. So I feel like I am kind of understanding strikers a little bit better. That time, I was just trying to get to the ground. “
Dern also admitted that in 2019, she was too raw to have been competing with someone on Ribas’ level and should have never accepted the fight. But that was her personality back then. She laughed about it and said that she wanted to achieve everything at once and didn’t like waiting for things to take their due course.
Dern’s plan for redemption
Dern had to pull out of her fight in December due to an injury. But this was also when she was offered the Ribas fight. The only catch was that this new schedule would be a 5-rounder. While she was initially worried about adjusting herself to the level of cardio required to fight for an extra 10 minutes while recovering, thankfully it has all worked out.
DERN vs RIBAS! #UFCVegas101 is LIVE TOMORROW on @ESPNPlus! pic.twitter.com/wQA1pL4jW8
— danawhite (@danawhite) January 10, 2025
Dern asserts that her team has been working really hard on takedowns and striking, that she is now in much better control of her adrenaline and won’t be going for the nitro booster from the get-go.
“I am not going to be going from start to finish with that pressure. I will be able to control my breathing and everything, so I think I have better distribution of my cardio now.”
While a shot at the UFC gold isn’t warranted by any account even if she wins against Ribas tomorrow, it will still be redemption for the Brazilian fighter.
