Mackenzie Dern attempts to throw a punch at Virna Jandiroba at UFC 256. Dern won the fight by unanimous decision.
Mackenzie Dern eyes interim strawweight title fight against Zhang Weili
Mackenzie Dern is hoping to fight for the interim strawweight title against Zhang Weili if Carla Esparza is indeed out for a bit.
Recently, Esparza came out and said she wouldn’t fight Weili until she is fully healthy which caused a major scene for many. However, if Esparza is out for a while, Dern believes she should fight for the interim title against Weili and the winner will face Esparza once she is healthy.
“If they do have an interim title I would like to be in there,” Dern told MMA Junkie. “Fight Zhang Weili or whoever it will be. I’m definitely interested in that. I’m ready. I’m talking with Mick (Maynard). I even sent a message to Dana (White). I’m like, ‘Hey Dana, I’m ready whoever it is, I’m ready.’ My manager Tim (Simpson) from Paradigm. A lot of names have been thrown out: Yan Xiaonan, Rose, Zhang Weili has been thrown out in the past, so I’m not sure how serious they are about that. But definitely I would be ready for any of those girls.”
Mackenzie Dern says she has been training and is ready anytime to fight from August to October for the fight to happen. Whether or not it will be an interim title fight is uncertain as Esparza said she will only need a few months off.
Yet, if the interim belt happens, Dern knows Weili is a tough challenge but she believes her jiu-jitsu could pose a lot of problems for the Chinese fighter.
“Zhang Weili continues to show she can throw crazy stuff at you and you need to be prepared. I hope to face her eventually. I think that would be a great fight. I don’t think she’s ever fought someone with my jiu-jitsu caliber, but definitely it would be a great. We’ll see what happens,” Dern concluded.
