Former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen has taken aim at Mackenzie Dern, criticizing the BJJ specialist’s career choices and questioning her understanding of the MMA business. Speaking on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen revealed that Dern previously turned down a lucrative grappling match against Miesha Tate early in her career.
“I could not go back over Mackenzie’s career and hand her one compliment on anything she’s done from an entertainment aspect,” Sonnen declared, highlighting Dern’s lack of promotional prowess despite her impressive grappling credentials.
Sonnen, known for his promotional acumen during his fighting career, expressed frustration over Dern’s decision to decline the grappling match against Tate, who was one of the biggest names in the sport at the time. According to Sonnen, Dern cited her focus on MMA as the reason for turning down the opportunity, a decision he believes demonstrated poor business acumen.
The criticism comes at an interesting point in Dern’s career. After recently avenging her 2019 loss to Amanda Ribas, Dern has stated she’s in no rush for a title shot, despite having headlined four UFC events. This stance seems to further support Sonnen’s assessment of her career management.
Sonnen also took issue with Dern’s training decisions, particularly her choice to leave her father Wellington “Megaton” Dias, a renowned BJJ practitioner, to train with Jason Parillo in California. “She decides she needs to get better at jiu-jitsu, she leaves her father, Wellington ‘Megaton,’ one of the biggest stars there is, goes out with Jason Parillo in California and starts hitting mitts which got her nowhere than missing punches and blocking shots with her face,” Sonnen stated.
Sonnen is also factually inaccurate here. Dern was training in MMA Lab in Arizona, from where she got asked to leave. Since then, her father has taken an active role in her career and even helped her found her own team in the brief time period where RVCA was sold and there was no room to train with Jason Parillo. She’s since reconnected with Parillo and is actively training with both Parillo and Megaton Dias.
Despite his harsh criticism, Sonnen admitted to having a soft spot for Dern, acknowledging that her openness about personal struggles has made her relatable to fans. “Everyone likes her, myself included, everyone seems to be rooting for her for reasons I really can’t explain to you, myself included,” he said.
However, Sonnen’s ultimate assessment was particularly pointed for a second-generation athlete: “As far as understanding what makes dollars has got to make sense, she doesn’t know what any of those words mean. I’ve never seen a second-generation athlete so unaware of the sport that’s going on around them.”
The critique comes amid Dern’s evolving career trajectory, which has seen her overcome early weight management issues and navigate multiple team changes. While she has shown improvement since her UFC debut in 2018, Sonnen’s comments suggest that her potential remains somewhat untapped, particularly in terms of maximizing her marketability and strategic career management.
