It wasn’t necessarily the fight she wanted but Mackenzie Dern got a much-needed win over Loopy Godinez at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday.
Some early success with her grappling gave way to some solid striking later in the fight as Dern controlled the pace and kept Godinez guessing, especially in a crucial third round. When it was over, all three judges scored the fight 29-28 with Dern getting the nod and putting her back on track after two straight losses.
“It feels amazing,” Dern said afterward. “Loopy is a tough fighter. She came from a loss, too, so we both wanted this win. I did a lot of boxing for a jiu-jitsu girl. I was trying to be calmer and see everything. I wanted to be calmer and not get into a brawl.”
Godinez showed a lot of confidence in her hands when trading strikes with Dern but the tables turned after the Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion got the fight to the ground. Dern immediately moved into the mount before grabbing onto an armbar with Godinez desperately trying to escape.
Dern eventually released the hold but not before she cracked Godinez with some solid hammer fists from her back.
On the feet at the start of the second round, Godinez and Dern were both settling into the striking exchanges but neither were really gaining a huge advantage. Godinez did manage a late takedown before looking on a standing arm-triangle choke but Dern stayed out of trouble to get the reset in the final round.
With five minutes remaining, Dern got much more aggressive, mixing her striking and grappling while putting Godinez on her backfoot. That forced Godinez to get more active but she still seemed to be eating more shots than she was delivering.
That really defined the fight in those latter moments, which allowed Dern to stay ahead of Godinez to secure the decision win.
With her latest win, Dern once again proves she’s a constant threat at strawweight while dispatching another tough opponent in Godinez.
