UFC 292 went down this past weekend in Boston and during the card, the promotion announced a compelling strawweight matchup that will go down in November. Former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade (24-12) will look to snap her losing streak as she takes on Mackenzie Dern (13-3). The bout takes place at UFC 295 on November 11th.
Mackenzie Dern is coming off a dominant win over Angela Hill where she put on the performance of her career. While Dern has always been known for her top tier jiu jitsu, it was her striking and wrestling which really impressed during her dominant win over Hill.
In her last four, Dern is 2-2 with the two losses coming against Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan. However, she can really build off the Angela Hill win and if she can defeat a former champion in Andrade, it shows that she’s going to be ready to take that next step into title contention.
UFC 295
In late 2020, Jessica Andrade moved up to flyweight and stopped top contender Katlyn Chookagian in the first round. She got a title shot against Valentina Shevchenko next and was dominated. However, after that loss, she won three extremely dominant fights in a row. She entered 2023 as a top contender at both 115 and 125.
However, this year has not been kind to the former UFC strawweight champion. After starting the year with a dominant win over Lauren Murphy, Andrade has lost three straight. Not only has she lost three straight, but she’s been finished in all three fights. Most recently against Tatiana Suarez at UFC Nashville.
Now, she has to regain her footing, but she’s taking on a dangerous and compelling contender in Dern. Andrade should have the advantage on the feet, but the moment this fight hits the ground (if it does), she cannot make a mistake. If she does, she’s looking at a fourth straight loss.
More must-reads: