Mackenzie Dern kicked off 2025 with a heaping helping of revenge.
The strawweight jiu-jitsu ace submitted Amanda Ribas with a nasty third-round armbar on Saturday night in the main event of UFC Vegas 101, which took place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas. It was redemption five years in the making for Dern after Ribas toppled her from the ranks of the unbeaten with a one-sided decision loss in 2019.
Dern (15-5) has now won back-to-back bouts after struggling through a 2-4 slump from late 2021 to early 2024. Saturday's result also moved Dern into a tie for second all-time for submissions in UFC strawweight history (5) and marked her first tapout win since besting Nina Nunes with an armbar in 2021.