NEW YORK – Mackenzie Dern altered her routine in preparation for her upcoming appearance at UFC 295, with high hopes for its impact on her performance.
The decorated jiu-jitsu competitor, a top strawweight contender fights on the main card at UFC 295 against former champion Jessica Andrade. However, Dern’s primary gym, RVCA in California, shut down during her preparation, prompting her to seek new training opportunities.
This led to her training alongside Olympic gold medalist in wrestling and former UFC two-division champion Henry Cejudo.
Dern (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) emphasizes Cejudo’s crucial role in preparation for her fight against Andrade (24-12 MMA, 15-10 UFC), expecting to showcase a new version in the octagon.
“It was great,” Dern told reporters at the UFC 295 media day on Wednesday. “He's like my size, so he was my training partner and helped me literally hands-on kind of thing. He's someone who's an Olympic champion in his own sport and was able to transition that to MMA, which is totally different.
“One thing that I felt I was missing a lot was range, the range of a fighter. Grapplers, we have no distance or range – we’re just in each other’s personal space all the time. So I would hit someone, land a shot, I’d feel that they feel it and I kind of run into them and I wouldn’t keep a distance. I didn’t realize that I had my own distance and my opponent has their own distance. … Just now I’m understanding that and that’s something that Henry (showed me). It’s a dance. They take one step forward, and you take a step back. …
“It helped me a lot, even though he wasn’t giving me 10,000 wrestling takedowns. I’m not chasing with my head down. I’m probably still going to do judo takedowns in the end.”
Dern is coming off a unanimous decision win over Angela Hill in May. She’s hoping to continue her unbeaten run in 2023 and notch a second victory, expressing confidence in not only defeating but also stopping the former UFC champion.
“I see a finish for me,” Dern said. “She’s a tough opponent. She’s someone that you can’t make a mistake (against). That’s why I think I was so hard on myself this camp, and I was very emotional for the camp, just wanting everything to be perfect and feeling frustrated and kind of going to bad habits and trying to go in and close the distance and doing things that I did like maybe four fights ago.
“I would get very emotional and I was thinking, ‘I just can’t be emotional in this fight. I need to be strategic. I need to be smart, and I need to make sure I don’t get into the dogfight with her.'”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 295.
Sarah Foster is your guide to the world of Mixed Martial Arts. With a deep understanding of MMA’s intricacies and a passion for the sport, she offers comprehensive coverage of MMA events, fighter profiles, and in-depth analysis of fights. Sarah’s commitment to the octagon ensures that readers stay engaged with the latest developments in the MMA world.
:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72931262/usa_today_21973134.0.jpg "Stay Updated on Wisconsin Badgers Transfer Portal Movements for 2023-2024 Season")
