Mackenzie Dern takes on Marina Rodriguez in a Main Event bout on October 9th. Mackenzie Dern is ranked #4 in the women’s Strawweight division and a win over Rodriguez might be what she needs to get a title shot. Dern has a 11-1 record and on a four fight winning streak, out of her four last wins she earned three performance of night bonuses. She is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and it’s fair to say she has the best jiu jitsu in her division with having the most submissions in her division as well. Her grappling record is impressive with a record of 75-25-1. She is very dangerous on the ground and can be a threat to anyone in the Strawweight division. Marina Rodriguez must already know this and have a game plan set up to avoid getting submitted. Rodriguez is ranked #6 in the division and coming off a main event bout against Michelle Waterson and won in a unanimous decision. Her background is Muay Thai and has very impressive striking and can do a great amount of damage in the Thai clinch. She tends to be very technical through the whole fight and never really gets sloppy and does anything out of desperation. Her opponent Dern does sometimes throw punches that are messy and it’ll be easy for Rodriguez to capitalize on it.
This fight can go many ways but I do not see it going 5 rounds. I think Dern is going to come out blazing looking for a takedown even if she has to drag her opponent down and look for a submission, while Rodriguez tries to avoid the takedown and look for counters and knees and elbows. The first round is crucial for both fighters, Dern has never gone five rounds so I’m expecting her to try and get the finish early because after the rounds pass and she’s not getting her way she will start being careless. If Dern starts abandoning her game plan Rodriguez is going to light her up on the feet. If Rodriguez can get through the first round without getting taken down or submitted I think she will pull Dern in the later rounds and just pick her apart on the feet. I think Rodriguez has better cardio and striking and will use it against Dern to get a win. I believe Dern is able to finish the fight in the first round with an arm bar or any submission. This fight is going to be interesting to watch because of the styles these women both have.
BIASMMA 