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UFC Vegas 61 didn't pan out the way Mackenzie Dern expected it to. Despite trying to get a submission till the dying seconds of her fight with Yan Xiaonan, the Chinese national was successful in foiling each of Dern's submission attempts.
Xiaonan won the contest via a majority decision. The No.6 strawweight contender was mostly able to shut down Dern's jiu-jitsu by keeping her in range and using her surprisingly impressive takedown defense.
In her post-fight interview with Megan Olivi, a teary-eyed Dern praised her opponent for being the better fighter:
"My goal was if I got it to the ground I should be finishing it, you know. I have the best jiu-jitsu I believe, in the women's division, so I had a lot of opportunities to finish and she was just a better fighter than me."
Watch Mackenzie Dern's interview with Megan Olivi below:
Responding to Olivi's question on whether she was surprised by Xiaonan's grappling defense, Dern said that she knew that she would have to either break her opponent's arm or put her to sleep to get the win:
"No. I knew that I was going to have to break her arm or put her to sleep. You know, she's tough... She's a tough girl, I knew she wasn't going to tap easily... And standing, she hits hard."
An emotional Mackenzie Dern vows to comeback stronger and become a champion
Following her UFC Vegas 61 loss to Yan Xiaonan, No.5 ranked strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern released a video statement on her Instagram. In the video, the fighter vowed to comeback stronger and become a champion.
The emotion-filled athlete also thanked everyone who supported her and congratulated her opponent on the win:
"I just want to say thank you. Thank you to everyone who cheer for me. I messed up, and Yan did so good. She's tough guys, she's really tough... I'm learning, you know. I'm learning on the spot, and I'm going to be a champion, I'm going to be a champion one day... I've just got to learn. I tried my best. I really tired. I just need to get better... I'll be back. I'll be back stronger."
With her loss at UFC Vegas 61 the Brazilian's pro-MMA record currently stands at 12 wins against 3 losses.
