“She’s my motivation,” UFC 295 star Mackenzie Dern reveals the motivation behind her quest for UFC gold

Discover the emotional story behind Mackenzie Dern's quest for UFC gold.

“She’s my motivation,” UFC 295 star Mackenzie Dern reveals the motivation behind her quest for UFC gold

Mackenzie Dern with her daughter, Moa (Instagram/Mackenzie Dern)

Mackenzie Dern is gearing up for a tough clash at UFC 295 against Jessica Andrade. Dern lost the opportunity to fight for the title due to some losses in important fights. Nevertheless, a win over Andrade would put her right back at the top.

Dern’s motivation for winning the UFC title is none other than her daughter, Moa, with her ex-husband, Wesley Santos. They had a messy separation and engaged in a custody battle for their daughter. In the recent UFC 295 embedded episode, Dern talked about her daughter being her motivation. This is what she said.

“Moa is everything to me, you know she’s my motivation for everything, all my fighting, everything I’m trying to do, so I can try and provide the best life possible for her, you know, and try to be a good example for her. She’s a great kid, you know, and just to see her smile on her face and to be able to do the fun things. Sometimes you feel like man, I’m working all the time, you know, and I don’t know if she understands that what I’m doing is really for her, you know, all soul but I know that eventually she’ll understand.”

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Dern’s opponent at UFC 295, Jessica Andrade is coming off a three-fight losing streak with all the fights ending via finish. However, Andrade is one of the most powerful fighters in the women’s division. She is the only fighter to compete and finish her opponents in three weight divisions of the UFC. However, Andrade is susceptible to counterattacks and submissions. Dern is the best submission specialist in the division.

Zhang Weili is the current Strawweight champion in the division. In her last bout, she dominantly defeated Amanda Lemos. She has two options for her next fight. Her compatriot, Yan Xionan is one and the other is the undefeated Tatiana Suarez. Dern has already faced Xionan and lost via majority decision.

Mackenzie Dern reveals cr*zy incident with her multiple-time champion father

Wellington “Megaton” Dias is a name synonymous with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is also the father of Mackenzie Dern and is an active part of Dern’s fight camp and corner. It was Dias and Dern’s stepmother, Luciana Tavares who taught Dern Jiu-Jitsu. In the recent UFC 295 embedded episode, Dern recalled an incident in her childhood that almost put Dias in police custody.

Mackenzie Dern and Wellington Dias
Mackenzie Dern and Wellington Dias (Instagram/Mackenzie Dern)

Apparently, Dern thought that her dad’s nickname, “Megaton”, was his real name and it caused confusion. This is the story that Dern told in the UFC 295 embedded episode.

“Megaton is very powerful bomb and because he’s from Judo used to throw the people on the ground and make a really loud noise when they hit the floor. So they like me sounds like a Megaton bomb when I was little. I always thought that that was his real name, not his nickname. One time he got pulled over by the police at an airport, and I was with him, and the police asked him what his real name is. The police came to talk to me and said, ‘Oh, do you know him?’ I said, ‘Yeah, that’s my dad.’ I said, ‘What’s his name?’ I said, ‘Megaton.’ So then they went over, and the police went and put his hands behind his back and said, ‘Put your hand behind your back, put your hand behind your back. Why are you lying about your name? Why are you lying about it?’ He’s like, ‘I’m not lying.’ He said, ‘Your name’s Megaton.’ He’s like, ‘No, that’s my nickname.’ You know, so almost got my dad arrested because I didn’t even know his real name. I thought Megaton was his real name.”

Dias is a coral belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who trained under Royler Gracie. Moreover, he has also won multiple Jiu-Jitsu championships in the Pan American Championships. However, he could not win at the World Championships. He came close in 1996 but lost the final. Following his footsteps, Dern won multiple championships and was also number 1 in the IBJJF rankings.

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