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#5 Strawweight: Mackenzie Dern vs. Hannah Cifers

Mackenzie Dern's world-class grappling skills make her a prospect to watch at 115lbs

This Strawweight clip features a pair of fighters who, thus far at least, haven’t quite lived up to their athletic potential in the UFC just yet. Given her issues in making the 115lbs Strawweight limit, it’s a surprise to see Mackenzie Dern fighting at this weight again. This will be her first fight since last October, when she suffered the first loss of her career at the hands of the underrated Amanda Ribas.

Dern is undoubtedly a world-class grappler; her credentials in that sport are insane and it’s clear that the UFC would probably love for her to repeat her success in the Octagon, as she’s also highly attractive and has a massive following on Instagram for a fighter not exactly at the top of the division just yet.

But while she hasn’t quite proven to be more hype than substance like say, Paige VanZant, she’s definitely had issues. Her striking, while powerful at times, is still a work in progress, and she’s been outstruck by two of her three UFC opponents thus far. And while she’s an excellent grappler, her takedowns haven’t been that great, which is probably why she’s only managed one submission thus far.

Hannah Cifers is basically the polar opposite of Dern. ‘Shockwave’ was brought into the UFC as essentially a hand-picked opponent for another vaunted prospect in Maycee Barber, and was subsequently stopped in decisive fashion. A pair of decision wins over Jodie Esquibel, and Polyana Viana followed, but her last fight saw her firmly beaten by Angela Hill in a fight that was, to be fair, too much of a step up for her.

A striker by trade, Cifers will definitely hold an advantage over Dern on the feet, but the question is whether she’s got enough to stop Dern from taking her down, where she’ll be way out of her depth. Personally, I’m not convinced that she does.

Firstly, her UFC wins, in particular, came against fighters who were pretty firmly at a disadvantage when it came to athletic ability, something that shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Dern. And secondly, ‘Shockwave’ seemed more than happy to grapple with Barber in their fight, something that obviously proved to be a major error when ‘The Future’ finished her on the ground.

If Cifers fights in a smart way, looks to keep Dern at a distance and avoids grappling, then this is a winnable fight for her – but assuming Dern can make the weight, I think she’s athletic enough to close the distance, take ‘Shockwave’ down, and submit her.

The Pick: Dern via first-round submission