Mackenzie Dern has issued a statement following her majority decision loss to Xiaonan Yan in tonight’s UFC Vegas 61 main event.
Dern (12-3 MMA) was returning to action for the first time since defeating Tecia Torres at UFC 273. The jiu-jitsu ace had gone 5-1 over her past six Octagon appearances overall, with three of those five wins coming by way of submission.
Meanwhile, Xiaonan Yan (16-3 MMA) had entered tonight’s UFC Vegas 61 main event with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. ‘Fury’ had suffered losses to Carla Esparza and Marina Rodriguez in her two most recent efforts, but prior to that was on a twelve-fight unbeaten streak.
Tonight’s ‘Dern vs. Yan’ headliner resulted in a solid back and forth affair. Mackenzie Dern was able to dominate rounds two and five on the canvas, but rounds 1, 3 and 4 were clearly in favor of the Chinese standout who simply outclassed Mackenzie on the feet. After twenty-five minutes of action it was pretty clear that the bout would either go to Yan or be ruled a draw. Unfortunately for Dern, only one judge awarded her with a 10-8 round and thus she lost the fight via majority decision.
Official UFC Vegas 61 Result: Xiaonan Yan def. Mackenzie Dern by majority decision (48-47 x2, 47-47)
Shortly following the conclusion of tonight’s contest, an emotional Dern took to social media where she addressed her fans with the following video and message:
View this post on Instagram
“Thank you so much to the fans, so sorry if I disappointed anyone! It is what it is, just get better the goal is the same! Champ one day! Congrats to @xiaonan_yan 🙏🏽👊🏽💪🏽🥋🥊” – Dern captioned the video.
Who would you like to see Mackenzie Dern fight next following her majority decision loss to Xiaonan Yan at tonight’s UFC Vegas 61 event? Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!