Mackenzie Dern Nearly Retired From Jiu-Jitsu This Year
Mackenzie Dern Nearly Retired From Jiu-Jitsu This Year
Jiu-Jitsu superstar Mackenzie Dern opened up about her plans for MMA and jiu-jitsu in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour.
Mackenzie Dern opened up about her career plans in MMA and jiu-jitsu in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour."
Following another disappointing performance at last month's ADCC 2017, where she lost in the opening round to relatively unknown Finnish brown belt Elvira Karppinen, Dern (3-0) will return to action against Mandy Polk (3-3) in a 125lb fight at LFA 24 in Phoenix, AZ, on Oct. 13.
Heading into her first MMA fight since March, Dern explained the reasons for the long layoff.
"I wanted to fight a couple of more jiu-jitsu tournaments," she said. "I wanted to fight Worlds and say goodbye. But I ended up tearing a ligament in my knee, so Worlds didn't go the way I wanted it to and than I had to go get knee surgery. But now I'm back and really excited to get another fight in MMA."
When Dern was asked by Helewani if she was done with jiu-jitsu, the American-Brazilian black belt said that if things had gone to plan she would have moved on from the sport where she made her name.
"That was my idea, but since it didn't go the way I wanted it to I don't know," she said. "I'm not ready. I don't know if I'm able to really say goodbye just yet.
Fans and analysts alike have asked if Dern's focus was spread too thin, and she admitted in the interview that she maybe bit off more than she could chew by trying to perform in both sports simultaneously.
"I was able to do it for a little bit, but sooner or later, you start to feel your body beat up from training everything so often, was hard to keep your mind sharp," she said. "Maybe you can do it if you're really good. Maybe you can get good results 70 percent, but I don't just want to pass by. I want to submit all my fights and perform to the best I can. To really excel, you need to focus 100 percent for sure."
Dern admitted that training MMA "sucks" in comparison to her passion for jiu-jitsu but gave her reasons for wanting to step back into the cage.
"For me it's the challenge -- I like the challenge," she said. "I'm an athlete. I'm a fighter. I would love to be able to represent jiu-jitsu in the MMA world and make jiu-jitsu more famous. If I can be a champion from jiu-jitsu in the MMA world, it would help promote jiu-jitsu. My heart is always with jiu-jitsu."
Regarding possibly fighting in the UFC, Dern said she would need to take a few more fights at 115 before getting signed up.
Interview with Mackenzie starts at 3:05:14...
Related:
• We Need To Talk About Mackenzie Dern
• Mackenzie Dern Works Her Technical Striking
Following another disappointing performance at last month's ADCC 2017, where she lost in the opening round to relatively unknown Finnish brown belt Elvira Karppinen, Dern (3-0) will return to action against Mandy Polk (3-3) in a 125lb fight at LFA 24 in Phoenix, AZ, on Oct. 13.
Heading into her first MMA fight since March, Dern explained the reasons for the long layoff.
"I wanted to fight a couple of more jiu-jitsu tournaments," she said. "I wanted to fight Worlds and say goodbye. But I ended up tearing a ligament in my knee, so Worlds didn't go the way I wanted it to and than I had to go get knee surgery. But now I'm back and really excited to get another fight in MMA."
When Dern was asked by Helewani if she was done with jiu-jitsu, the American-Brazilian black belt said that if things had gone to plan she would have moved on from the sport where she made her name.
"That was my idea, but since it didn't go the way I wanted it to I don't know," she said. "I'm not ready. I don't know if I'm able to really say goodbye just yet.
My goal was to win everything this year and then go focus on MMA, but it didn't go that way so I want to keep fighting. We'll see.
Fans and analysts alike have asked if Dern's focus was spread too thin, and she admitted in the interview that she maybe bit off more than she could chew by trying to perform in both sports simultaneously.
"I was able to do it for a little bit, but sooner or later, you start to feel your body beat up from training everything so often, was hard to keep your mind sharp," she said. "Maybe you can do it if you're really good. Maybe you can get good results 70 percent, but I don't just want to pass by. I want to submit all my fights and perform to the best I can. To really excel, you need to focus 100 percent for sure."
Dern admitted that training MMA "sucks" in comparison to her passion for jiu-jitsu but gave her reasons for wanting to step back into the cage.
"For me it's the challenge -- I like the challenge," she said. "I'm an athlete. I'm a fighter. I would love to be able to represent jiu-jitsu in the MMA world and make jiu-jitsu more famous. If I can be a champion from jiu-jitsu in the MMA world, it would help promote jiu-jitsu. My heart is always with jiu-jitsu."
Dern's weight class
Dern talked about her preferred weight class in MMA and said that this upcoming 125lb fight is not a permanent move and that she still plans to return to 115lb at a later time.Regarding possibly fighting in the UFC, Dern said she would need to take a few more fights at 115 before getting signed up.
Interview with Mackenzie starts at 3:05:14...
Related:
• We Need To Talk About Mackenzie Dern• Mackenzie Dern Works Her Technical Striking