UFC star Mackenzie Dern has responded to UFC commentator Din Thomas’ controversial remarks labeling her championship bout “insignificant,” defending the legitimacy of her title bout with a measured but firm response.
In a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Dern addressed Thomas’ comment that questioned whether her match was “the most insignificant title fight in recent memory” of the UFC.
“Yeah for sure,” Dern acknowledged when asked if the comments bothered her. She then offered a thoughtful comparison to contextualize her perspective.
“I don’t know, it’s like Jon Jones gave up his belt and Tom Aspinall became the champion. What do we in the division have to do with it? People can’t retire, people can’t want to leave to go up a weight class and change things.”
Dern emphasized the natural progression that occurs when championships become vacant. “If there’s a vacated belt, who else would fight for the belt? So I don’t understand what would be so insignificant about fighting a champion.”
The Brazilian-American star pointed out that champions like Zhang Weili have earned the right to make career choices. “Weili, if she wanted to, she’s accomplished everything. She didn’t even need to go up to the weight class. If she wanted to just retire, she could just retire, and then what are they going to do?”
Dern’s confusion about Thomas’ critique extended to her opponent’s credentials as well. “Bruno was on a five-fight win streak, submitting and taking down everyone. This girl is like a strawweight mini Khabib kind of girl,” she said, comparing her opponent to former lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
What particularly puzzled Dern was that the criticism came from someone inside the industry with coaching experience. “I don’t understand. As a commentator, and I think he even helps with training and coaches and stuff, I thought it was kind of a little bit… I didn’t understand it.”
Despite the pre-bout negativity, Dern remained focused on proving herself in the octagon.
