Mackenzie Dern did something no other woman had in the UFC with history-making submission

Mackenzie Dern became the first woman in UFC history to finish an opponent with a leglock

Following Dern’s seven-pound weight miss in 2018, she lost her first fight back from maternity leave against Amanda Ribas. But it did not take her long to bounce back from her first professional MMA setback.

Dern returned at UFC Vegas 1 in May 2020, sharing the cage with Hannah Cifers on a card headlined by Gilbert Burns’ victory over Tyron Woodley.

The event will always be known as the one at which the very first leglock submission in women’s UFC history took place.

Dern submitted Cifers with a kneebar midway through the very first round, as the gruesome move forced a frantic tap from the now-retired American fighter.

That resulted cemented Dern’s name in the history books as the first woman to win with any kind of leglock in the UFC Octagon.

Mackenzie Dern could not submit UFC 321 rival Virna Jandiroba the first time around

If Dern is to add to her sizable tally of submissions on MMA’s biggest stage this Saturday in Abu Dhabi, she’ll have to do something she could not do almost five years ago.

After Zhang Weili relinquished the strawweight title ahead of her shot at two-division supremacy up at flyweight this November, Dern will fight Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 for the vacant crown.

The former BJJ champion has already gotten the better of her upcoming opponent, having outpointed Jandiroba in December 2020.

She’ll likely be looking for a more emphatic triumph en route to the gold on October 25.