Mackenzie Dern enters UFC 321 on October 25, 2025, in Abu Dhabi in search of to change into the primary lady to seize each an ADCC title and a UFC championship – an achievement matched by solely three males, and solely accomplished throughout each main self-discipline by Fabricio Werdum.
Mackenzie Dern At UFC 321
At a pre-fight press convention, Dern famous that Werdum stays the one athlete ever to safe gold within the IBJJF World Championship, Abu Dhabi World Professional, ADCC, and UFC, and he or she aspires to hitch him in that rarefied firm.
Fabricio Werdum solid his standing as a pioneer in elite submission grappling and MMA over 20 years. He gained the IBJJF World Championship at black belt in 2003 and 2004, claimed the ADCC World Championship in 2007 and efficiently defended it in 2009, and later ascended to UFC Heavyweight Champion with submission victories over Cain Velasquez and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. His distinctive sweep of the game’s 4 premier titles earned him induction into the ADCC Corridor of Fame in 2024.
Dern’s jiu-jitsu résumé parallels Werdum’s in prestigious accomplishments. She captured the ADCC Championship at -60 kg in 2015, turning into the third lady to win the event, and that very same yr she gained the IBJJF World Championship, each Gi and No-Gi, in addition to the World Professional Abu Dhabi title. Her distinguished grappling profession is highlighted by gold medals on the IBJJF European Open, Pan-American Championship, and Asian Open, making her the one feminine competitor to carry black-belt gold in all 5 principal IBJJF Gi occasions.
Transitioning to MMA, Dern made her UFC debut at UFC 222 in March 2018, incomes a unanimous break up resolution over Ashley Yoder. Over seven years, she has recorded ten UFC victories, seven by submission, together with the primary feminine leg-lock end in UFC historical past through kneebar in Could 2020. Her submission success price of 53 % exhibits her capacity to translate elite grappling into the Octagon.
On the press convention forward of UFC 321, Dern mirrored on future and timing, she defined:
“I might change into the primary lady ever to carry each an ADCC title and a UFC title. There’ve been three males who’ve performed it, however no girls. Fabricio Werdum is the one one who’s ever performed all 4 — IBJJF, World Professional, ADCC, and UFC. To perhaps be a part of him in that historical past, that’s actually particular for me.”
“I gained my first world title right here in Abu Dhabi on April 25, 2015, and now I’m preventing for a UFC world title on October 25, 2025 — precisely ten years later, similar place. You possibly can’t plan one thing like that. It actually seems like future. I’ve been coaching since I used to be 5, so I feel the celebs are aligning.”
Although three males have held each ADCC and UFC titles, Werdum, Demian Maia, Ronaldo “Jacaré” Souza, solely Werdum has accomplished the total quartet of IBJJF, World Professional, ADCC, and UFC championships.
If Dern prevails at UFC 321, she is not going to merely lengthen her private legacy but in addition reshape the report books, standing alone alongside Werdum. Her marketing campaign epitomizes the convergence of grappling pedigree and MMA ambition, marking a watershed second in girls’s fight sports activities.
