PHOENIX — It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, a scorching 90 degrees in February, and Mackenzie Dern is the hottest thing going at the MMA Lab in suburban Phoenix.
The facility is so new that building contractors are still wandering around. The mats were just installed the previous night. A representative from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is there, razzing a fighter for blood, urine and a detailed accounting of some personal medication. There are dogs, a baby and more than a dozen fighters sparring, with differing degrees of enthusiasm all around.
None of it phases Dern, who is most definitely in her zone as Kanye and Jay-Z blare and she prepares for her first appearance in the UFC's Octagon.