Mackenzie Dern

Mackenzie Dern won the 2016 Worlds by a single advantage. The featherweight final against Michelle Nicolini ended level at 6-6, and the tiebreaker gave the American her second straight black belt title. Before that she beat Karen Antunes on a referee decision in the semifinal. In the open class she got past Fernanda Mazzelli in the quarterfinals and lost the semifinal to Dominyka Obelenyte 6-4, as she had the year before. A few weeks later she made her MMA debut.

Born on March 24, 1993, in Phoenix, Arizona, she is the daughter of black belt Wellington “Megaton” Dias, who gave her the black belt in December 2012, before she turned 20. She took Worlds bronze in 2013 and 2014, and in 2015 she won the featherweight world title with a choke from the back on Nicolini in the final, won the open class at No-Gi Worlds and took ADCC gold at 60 kg. In Jiu-Jitsu she has 75 wins, 45 of them by submission.

In MMA she debuted in July 2016 at Legacy FC 58 with a decision over Kenia Rosas and reached the UFC in March 2018, beating Ashley Yoder at UFC 222. On October 25, 2025, at UFC 321, she beat Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision to win the vacant strawweight title. On August 15, 2026, at UFC 330 in Philadelphia, she made her first title defense, also winning a unanimous decision, over Gillian Robertson.