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Mackenzie Dern showed off a new side of herself on Saturday.
The grappling specialist had been criticized in the past for prioritizing position over damage, but that wasn’t the case in her UFC Vegas 73 main event fight with Angela Hill, as Dern came out swinging and didn’t stop attacking for almost the entirety of their 25-minute bout. In the end, the strawweight contender walked out with a dominant win on the scorecards.
Suffice to say, the MMA world was wowed by Dern’s aggressive performance, with everyone from fighters to fans to media tweeting about the victory. Hill received no shortage of praise either, as she battled through precarious submission situations and visible facial injuries to take Dern to the limit.
Top bantamweight contender Raquel Pennington went as far as to say that Dern put on a “champion performance.”
See more of the best reactions from social media below.
Dern wasn’t kidding when she said she was going for that bonus money champion performance right there @ufc
— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) May 21, 2023
These girls deserve fight of the Night!!! @ufc
— Raquel Pennington (@RockyPMMA) May 21, 2023
Congratulations @MackenzieDern https://t.co/3zzicncynd
— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) May 21, 2023
What a fight! The women are bringing it! #UFCVegas73
— Tatiana Suarez (@tatianaufc) May 21, 2023
Dern putting the entire division on notice tonight! She looks very impressive. And Hill showing a lot of heart in there. No quit in her #UFCVegas73
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) May 21, 2023
I bet no one thought this fight was gonna go like this!! I thought for sure first exchange on the ground Dern would wrap Hill up. But Hill is showing she is a TRUE warrior and a gamer in there. Surviving some tough situations over and over. #UFCVegas73 #ufcfightnight
— Corey 'Overtime' Anderson (@CoreyA_MMA) May 21, 2023
Great fight ladies #ufcvegas #ufcfightnig
— Raphael Assuncao (@RaphaAssuncao) May 21, 2023
This is intense!!!! #UFCVegas73
— Alan Jouban (@AlanJouban) May 21, 2023
this is a scrap!!!!
— Kai Kamaka III (@kaiboikamaka) May 21, 2023
Dern looked ferocious. Hill is so tough #UFC
— Niko Price (@Nikohybridprice) May 21, 2023
Who saw this fight going to a decision? Dawgs both of them
— Eryk Anders (@erykanders) May 21, 2023
That’s was a statement!!!! #UFCVegas
— Renato Moicano UFC (@moicanoufc) May 21, 2023
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