Jason Parillo, the renowned MMA head coach based in Orange County California, has revealed his ongoing battle to keep newly crowned UFC strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern focused on training following her historic title victory at UFC 321.
In a recent interview, Parillo disclosed that he spent three hours on the phone with Dern, pleading with her to maintain her fitness regimen.
“She got the airport early yesterday and I was on the phone with her for three hours,” Parillo explained. “She’s got a poker tournament trip to Brazil. I’m going, ‘Please, please go for a jog. We need to keep you. She said she’s going to get in the gym one day in this coming up week.'”
The coach’s concern highlights what he considers the biggest challenge in working with Dern.
“Most importantly, she got to stay, you know, in the gym. That’s my biggest issue with Mackenzie Dern. But if I keep her in the gym, you know, she’s got to be ready for anybody,” Parillo stated matter-of-factly.
Despite his frustrations, Parillo remains patient with his champion, a trait he identifies as crucial to his success with multiple world champions including Michael Bisping, Cris Cyborg and BJ Penn.
“I’m really patient”
“I’ll let them kind of make their decisions and that way I know whether they’re about making the right decision or not,” he said.
The relationship between Parillo and Dern hasn’t always been smooth sailing. After initially working together successfully, the pair parted ways for several bouts, with Parillo citing external influences affecting Dern‘s career decisions.
However, Dern reached out during the Lemos bout, FaceTiming her former coach from the locker room.
“She goes, ‘Coach, I got to get back with you,'” Parillo recalled.
True to his philosophy, Parillo welcomed her back.
“Listen, everybody deserves a second chance,” he told her. “Let’s see if we can get together and finish what we started.”
The reunion proved fruitful, culminating in Dern‘s dominant victory over Virna Jandiroba to capture the UFC strawweight title. Parillo, who transformed Dern from someone who looked like she was scraping in a nightclub into a technically sound champion, now faces his next challenge: keeping her motivated and active in training.
“Now that she’s a champ, I’m going to really even be more honor,” Parillo admitted, suggesting he’ll need to be more insistent about her training schedule going forward.
