Mackenzie Dern’s championship aspirations at strawweight may hinge on what Zhang Weili decides to do next. The former ADCC champion revealed during a recent UFC Fan Expo interview that she’s been waiting since January for her next fight, largely dependent on whether the current champion moves up to flyweight.
“I’m wanting to get training so I can figure out what to train for,” Dern explained. “I hope she goes up. I want to see her fight Valentina either way, but on a personal level, I would love if she went up and they vacated and I would like to fight.”
The Brazilian grappler sees a clear path to the title if Weili vacates the division. She believes a matchup with fellow Brazilian Marina Rodriguez would be the logical fight for the vacant championship, noting their shared grappling backgrounds would bring a fresh dynamic to the division.
“We’re both grapplers, so since [Weili] was such a striker, Joanna was such a striker and they were so dominant in the division, I think it would be really refreshing,” Dern said.
Interestingly, Dern holds a victory over Rodriguez from approximately five years ago, but acknowledged that Rodriguez would be next in line for a title shot if Weili remains at strawweight. This leaves Dern in a waiting pattern, hoping for the champion to move up.
When asked about potentially fighting Weili herself, Dern displayed refreshing honesty about her current readiness. “I would love to fight [Weili] but not right now. I’m not there yet,” she admitted. However, she believes that if she were to win a vacant title and Weili later returned to strawweight, it would provide sufficient time for her to develop into a worthy challenger.
Dern’s motivation draws heavily from fellow Brazilian Charles Oliveira, whom she cites as her biggest inspiration in mixed martial arts. “I’m just trying to catch him, you know, he has the most submissions, most bonuses. I want to be like him,” she explained.
The influence of Brazilian fighters runs deep for Dern, who also credits Royce Gracie as a major factor in her decision to pursue MMA. “He was kind of like one of my biggest influences that made me decide to join MMA,” she said, explaining how Gracie’s success gave her courage to represent women’s jiu-jitsu in mixed martial arts.
If the title match materializes, Dern hopes it would take place in Brazil, potentially in November.
