Back to the MMA Newsfeed

On motherhood and fighting, Mackenzie Dern sets new goal: ‘Be the first mother to win a championship belt in the UFC’

UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern announced on Feb. 22 she was expecting a baby, but she’s actually planning to be back in action inside the Octagon in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Wait, what? How is that possible?

Allow her to explain.

Earlier this year — on Jan. 9, to be more specific — Dern was targeting a return to the UFC in March. What she didn’t know is that she was already five months pregnant, expecting a baby with her husband and professional surfer Wesley Santos.

The UFC approached her with a fight offer in January, but Dern, who had no idea she was pregnant — her child is due in May — turned it down.