During an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, UFC strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern talked about the impact of the recent match between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.
Dern did not hesitate in sharing her view that the bout, however brief, was a good thing for MMA.
“I mean, she k*lled it. I mean, it was like what, 10 seconds or 15 seconds?” Dern said, before Helwani corrected her with the official time of 17 seconds.
While the outcome was one-sided, Dern saw a bigger picture worth appreciating.
For Dern, the significance of the matchup went beyond the result. She acknowledged that both women are mothers who came back to compete, and that alone deserved recognition.
“As a woman, to see Gina come back after like I think I don’t know 20 years or something like that, and just put herself out there and you know just like making weight and training again and like that self-esteem and just you know being back in there,” she said. “And then Ronda too, she’s a mom, and coming back in there.”
Dern also addressed the criticism that surrounded the matchup, pushing back on those who questioned its relevance.
“I know people are like, oh, who wants to see these girls compete against each other, but it’s like, they still brought in a lot of followers and it’s exciting.”
She pointed to Rousey’s legacy as an Olympian and former champion, arguing that her losses to Amanda Nunes and Holly Holm do not erase what she accomplished.
“Everyone remembered Ronda being at her best, and obviously she lost to Amanda and Holly Holm, but that doesn’t take away all the athleticism. I mean, she’s an Olympian.”
To further illustrate her point, Dern drew a comparison to the Mike Tyson and Jake Paul match.
“I mean, Mike Tyson was out for so long, but everyone still wanted to see him in there, you know what I mean? And just see it.”
Her takeaway was straightforward: the matchup delivered something for the audience to engage with, and that has value in itself.
“I feel like it was just fun for the sport and fun for people to see something,” she said. “Even though I wish it could have been longer so we could see a little bit more, but it was good.”
