Who Is Next For Mackenzie Dern After Stunning UFC 321 Title Win?

The first, and higher-profile option, would be Weili Zhang, the now-former champion who will challenge flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko next month.

For quite some time, the future of the strawweight division had been uncertain as Zhang vacillated between wanting to defend her title and going 10 pounds north. Some closure finally arrived when she chose to vacate, allowing Dern to step to the forefront.

Nevertheless, some fans have yet to fully embrace this new reign, seeing it as “illegitimate”. In other words, Zhang still has the so-called “lineal championship”, and Dern is just keeping the physical belt warm for her.

If Zhang loses, returning to 115 is her likeliest path. She gets a (potentially final) chance to remind the fans why she is a legend of the division. For Dern, however, it is a chance to truly legitimize her reign.

Tatiana Suarez – The Silently Resurgent One

There is, however, a future where Zhang wins the flyweight title and never looks back. Dern knows it, hence why she mentioned someone else in her post-fight presser:

“I would definitely like to fight Tatiana (Suarez). Maybe she gets one more fight in. I want to have a couple more fights with some grapplers.”

Tatiana Suarez did not fare well at all against Zhang, but her recent win against Amanda Lemos, while ugly, proved that she is still a top contender. She possesses some of the most suffocating wrestling in the division, but Dern’s grappling acumen is more than a potent counter to it.

It can be easily slotted as the co-main for UFC 324, which has been rumored to take place in Los Angeles. Fittingly, both women have ties to the conurbation – Suarez was born in Azusa, while Dern currently primarily trains in Huntington Beach.

End Of My Mackenzie Dern Rant

No matter whom Dern faces next, the biggest winner from her fight is Dana White. Fans had surmised that he wanted her to beat Jandiroba for “marketability”, and the more astute ones noticed him smiling as the verdict was read. Had Jandiroba been the one declared the victor, he would have frowned, as if asking himself how in the world he would sell her.

As they say, however, fighters are only as good as their last fights. It is time for Dern to prove that she is truly better than her record suggests, and defense would be a step towards meeting that goal .