Mackenzie Dern’s grappling supremacy may have been resisted in her mixed martial arts debut but she more than made up for it in her second outing.
Dern, who famously overcame a massive size disadvantage to defeat Gabi Garcia in the Abu Dhabi World Pro open class semi-final in 2015, is backed for big things by many in the MMA community after reaching the pinnacle of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
And her second bout proved just why so many are predicting a similar trajectory for her in MMA.
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Dern was tasked with taking on Montana Stewart at Legacy Fighting Championship 61 on Friday night and she didn’t waste any time in pushing her professional record to 2-0.
After pursuing an omoplata midway through the opening round, Dern went in search of a rear naked choke.
The shoulder lock and choke combination was too much for Stewart, who had no option but to tap out and fall victim to a top contender for submission of the year.
“She will be bigger than Ronda Rousey before Ronda Rousey lost,” Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson recently said. “She’s going to be huge. She’s going to be big. She has an excellent work ethic.”
And judging by her performance this weekend, we think ‘Smooth’ may be on to something.
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