For nearly three full rounds Saturday at UFC 222, it was hard to justify the hype around Mackenzie Dern.
The hot prospect had her hands full with Ashley Yoder, whose southpaw stance frustrated Dern throughout their women's strawweight fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Yoder's athleticism and conditioning also allowed her to keep the bout standing and avoid Dern's vaunted Brazilian jiu-jitsu game.
With time ticking away in the final stanza, however, Dern finally fully committed on a takedown attempt and put Yoder on the mat. Once there, she moved effortlessly to her opponent's back and applied a rear naked choke that might well have finished the fight if she'd had more time to work.