Mackenzie Dern
From jiu-jitsu prodigy to UFC champion
- Born
- March 24, 1993, Phoenix, Arizona, US
- Nationality
United States
Brazil- Height
- 163 cm (5′4″)
- Reach
- 160 cm (5′3″)
- Style
- Leg-lock guard player
- Weight
- Featherweight, ADCC -60 kg, Strawweight (MMA)
- Active
- 2013–present
- Status
- Active · age 33
The record
BJJ Heroes record in major events, 2013-2024: wins by 45 submissions, 14 on points, 7 on advantages, 7 by referee decision; 9 of 26 losses by submission. Professional MMA record 17-5; reigning UFC women's strawweight champion (UFC.com).
2× IBJJF World Champion, 1× ADCC
The story
ackenzie Dern was born in Phoenix, the daughter of black belt Wellington 'Megaton' Dias, and was on the mats by the age of three. She won world titles through the colored belts, then as a black belt took IBJJF featherweight gold in 2015 and 2016, beating Michelle Nicolini in both finals, and won ADCC at 60 kg in 2015, again over Nicolini. Leg locks were a trademark: BJJ Heroes counts 15 toe-hold finishes among her 45 black-belt submissions. She turned to MMA in 2016 and, after years as one of the most feared submission threats at strawweight, won the vacant UFC women's strawweight title by decision over Virna Jandiroba in October 2025. She defended it against Gillian Robertson in August 2026. She holds a third-degree black belt under her father.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- UFC women's strawweight champion (won 2025, defended 2026)
- IBJJF World champion (2015, 2016; featherweight)
- ADCC champion 2015 (-60 kg)
- IBJJF No-Gi World absolute champion (2015)
- UFC Performance of the Night (4 times)
Defining matches
- 2015WINvs Michelle Nicolini (choke from the back, IBJJF Worlds featherweight final)
- 2015WINvs Michelle Nicolini (penalty, ADCC -60 kg final)
- 2016WINvs Michelle Nicolini (advantage, IBJJF Worlds featherweight final)
- 2025WINvs Virna Jandiroba (unanimous decision, UFC 321, won strawweight title)
- 2026WINvs Gillian Robertson (unanimous decision, UFC 330, first title defense)
Take Dern's leg-lock timing: when a passer steps over your hips or stands in your open guard, trap the foot, lock a figure-four grip on it and turn the toes inward while your legs keep their knee pinned.
1948–1982