Dern faces Yan Xiaonan in the headliner of UFC Vegas 61 this Saturday night
(October 1, 2022) inside the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, hoping for her
second win. With a victory, Dern can move up the rankings, where she currently
sits at No. 5 in the women's strawweight division.
And given
that most strong contenders will be jostling for a shot at the division title,
Dern admits she's willing to take one fight before she lands UFC gold.
document.write('
"I feel
like if I have an existing exposure, [the previous champion] would be a decent
next step for me," Dern said during a new media day via MMA Addict. Not
going to fight, I mean, I'm not going to be the person who says, 'No. No, I
don't need a title fight.' In case they offer it, maybe we'll take it,"
she said, before adding that she would like to face another strong opponent
first.
"Be
that as it may, for my purposes, assuming I make a decision, I'd probably want
to do one more fight against the failure of the previous champion — Rose
Namajunas, Jessica Andrade, maybe Zhang Weili and Carla Esparza. . I think that
will be the case. A good test for me. Furthermore, in case I beat the previous champion,
I can fight the real hero."
As things
stand, Carla Esparza is the champion of the division and will defend her belt
against former champion Zhang Weili in the co-headliner of UFC 281 on November
12, 2022. From that point forward, the following title shot should go to Marina
Rodriguez, who is ranked No. 3 and has a four-fight dominating streak with wins
over both Yan and Dern.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sat., Oct. 1, 2022, with an exciting women’s strawweight contenders’ bout that will see No. 5-ranked Mackenzie Dern clash with No. 6-seeded Yan Xiaonan. click here for complete details