""I humbled myself to start something new and basically become like a white belt and just like learn and go through," stated Dern. "Especially on a bigger platform with all these critics. The UFC fans, they love you then hate you then love you again, so it's a lot like a roller coaster ride.""
""I'm proud of my journey, and I think that's what's going to make me a great champion, is the adversity that I went through.""
""I really think it's destiny. I don't know what the results will be exactly on Saturday, but I really believe that the stars are aligned.""
Mackenzie Dern will rematch Virna Jandiroba for the vacant UFC strawweight title in Abu Dhabi this Saturday. Weili Zhang vacated the 115lb belt to pursue a fight with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. Dern dominated Brazilian jiu-jitsu before transitioning to mixed martial arts and deliberately restarted as a novice to learn the new sport. The UFC fan environment has been volatile for Dern, creating a roller-coaster career trajectory. Dern cites adversity as a formative force and compares her path to Charles Oliveira's uneven but submission-rich rise. The title opportunity coincides with the ten-year anniversary of her BJJ world title and her return to Abu Dhabi.
Read at Cageside Press
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