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The UFC Apex will be hosting yet another Fight Night card this weekend, headlined by an exciting women's strawweight bout.
UFC Fight Night 194, also dubbed UFC Vegas 39, will feature a headliner between No.4-ranked Mackenzie Dern and No.6-ranked Marina Rodriguez.
Jared Gooden and Randy Brown will star in a welterweight battle in the co-main event.
The rest of the main card includes a flyweight clash between Tim Elliott and Matheus Nicolau, a women's flyweight contest between Sabina Mazo and Mariya Agapova and a middleweight bout between Phil Hawes and Deron Winn.
UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez
Former jiu-jitsu champion Mackenzie Dern has been on a terrific run in the UFC since early 2020. She bounced back from her decision loss to Amanda Ribas, which was also the sole defeat of her MMA career, with an excellent kneebar submission win over Hannah Cifers. She followed that up with consecutive victories against Randa Markos, Virna Jandiroba and Nina Nunes.
Dern is currently tied with China's Yan Xiaonan in the UFC women's strawweight rankings, with only Carla Esparza, Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili ahead of her on the 115-pound ladder. Emerging victorious against Rodriguez on Saturday night will take Dern a big step closer to the UFC women's strawweight gold, which is currently held by 'Thug' Rose Namajunas. The champ will put the belt on the line in a rematch against Zhang Weili at UFC 268 in November.
Marina Rodriguez, meanwhile, is on a two-fight winning streak. She recorded back-to-back victories over Ribas and Michelle Waterson. The triumphs helped her spring back from her split decision loss to Esparza in 2020.
Whilst Rodriguez competed in a main event earlier this year, UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez will be the first headlining UFC bout for Dern. The submission artist is determined to make it count.
Speaking to MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, the Arizona-born Brazilian predicted a finish in Saturday's main event.
"My first main event, finally it's here! I'm really excited to show that I'm ready for the belt. Marina is tough, she's a good striker. So, it's the typical grappler vs. striker. Let's do it. I'm happy that my face will be on the poster. I don't think it'll go the five rounds."
Watch MMA Fighting's interview with Mackenzie Dern below:
Here's the latest UFC Fight Card
