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UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern was born in Phoenix, Arizona and is of American nationality. Although McKenzie Dern is an American, she speaks English with a thick Brazilian accent. This has led to several theories with videos, message boards, forums and even podcasts having featured discussions about her accent.
One particular theory even suggested that Mackenzie Dern had purposefully changed her accent in order to appeal to the Brazilian market. However Dern's accent stems from her bilingual upbringing, her father a being a native Portuguese speaker, Wellington 'Megaton' Dias.
Wellington Dias is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner, and a 6th degree black belt of the Gracie Humaitá jiu-jitsu association under Royler Gracie.
Ahead of her bout with Ashley Yoder at UFC 222, Mackenzie Dern shared insights about the new found attention in her accent. Taking it as a compliment, Dern told Ariel Helwani of ESPN:
"Yeah, it's so flattering, you know? (Laughs) You know, I haven't seen this video and I won't watch it. I think it's just funny how they're talking about it and I think after my UFC fights they'll pay more attention to my fighting. But, they're paying so much attention to this - it's a compliment. I think people are starting to understand this is me, it's who I am. I think it will pass in a while."
Mackenzie Dern rebounds from marital trouble and gets back in win column
Mackenzie Dern was married to Wesley Santos, a professional surfer. The couple has a daughter named Moa, born in June 2019. While everything seemed to be going well for the family, the 30-year-old fighter announced that she was separating from her husband in 2022.
Prima facie, the couple appeared to have separated on good terms and filed for a divorce. Mackenzie Dern took on the most difficult opponent of her career until that point, Yan Xiaonan during the early stage of her divorce. The fight did not go as expected and Dern later admitted that the emotional turmoil of her divorce affected her state of mind going into the fight.
The Brazilian-American fighter's divorce soon became publicized as there were allegations of domestic abuse, neglect and violence in the months that followed. However, the dust has settled now and Dern is back in the win column with a thumping win over Angela Hill in May 2023.
She will now attempt to put together a winning streak to make a solid claim for a title shot. Dern is set to return to the octagon against former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade at UFC 295. The event takes place on November 11, 2023.
