UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern was in the midst of a court battle with her estranged husband ahead of her fight with Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73.
During an appearance on Wednesday on MMA watchDern went into detail about her fractured relationship with her estranged husband, Wesley Santos, and accused him for the first time of physical assault.
“So I feel like I had to stand up for myself all the time for things I never thought I would have to stand up for,” she said, adding finally, “I was in a situation in my relationship that I couldn’t even stand up for myself, because I was getting, like, A threat that if I did anything I would talk to the police and I might lose my daughter.
“So, I stayed in my relationship because I believe in family, and I think that’s what God wanted and other things. But there’s a certain point where you try, and try, and try, and things just don’t change, and it just gets worse. And then, like I was saying, I couldn’t even stand up.” About myself…. Like, the police were called to the house. It was just spiraling out of control, and you’re going through this in front of your daughter, you don’t want your daughter to witness it.”
Santos, in a prepared statement, denied Dern’s allegations and said he would speak after their divorce was final.
“I am disappointed that Mackenzie has chosen to make public statements about our divorce, especially as it relates to custody of our beautiful daughter, Moa,” he wrote. “Because we are in the middle of legal proceedings, I cannot comment on anything at this time, other than to say that McKenzie’s statements are false and defamatory.”
One month prior to the event, Dern exchanged domestic violence accusations with Santos amid a custody battle over their 3-year-old daughter, Moa, in court, according to court documents obtained by MMA Fighting.
Among other allegations, Dern accuses Santos of repeated physical and emotional abuse, once he slammed a door on her leg while he allegedly dragged her into their home during a fight. In April, one month after Santos asked the court for custody of Moa, she filed a petition for a domestic violence restraining order, attaching videos of an alleged incident of abuse in which he “threw my phone, water bottles, pillows, and bedding while harassing/verbally intimidating me.”
Dern said police responded after the alleged incident was caught on video – which she said did not involve physical abuse – but did not file a report.
Responding to Dern’s restraining order, Santos responded that he had been abused, providing videos and photos of a bloody nose that he said was from punching her during an alleged incident in a sushi restaurant parking lot. He also accused her of hitting Moa in a video she sent him. He denied the allegation of abuse in his response.
“I never physically attacked Mackenzie, she is a mixed martial arts fighter,” Santos wrote in a lawsuit. “I wouldn’t even try to get it physical. I wouldn’t have any chance.”
Dern also accuses Santos of abusing her two dogs by repeatedly hitting them, an allegation he denies. She alleges he committed financial abuse by denying her access to sponsor money she earned in a Brazilian bank account, making unauthorized credit card purchases on her credit card, and faking a lease renewal for the apartment they once shared.
The court did not take sides with Dern or Santos on the allegations of abuse, finding that the couple may have engaged in tit-for-tat fighting during their alleged abuse incidents, and ordered joint custody of Moa. But Dern, who was ruled the primary breadwinner for her stay-at-home father Santos, was ordered to pay $10,000 in court fees to her estranged husband. In addition, she was ordered to pay spousal and child support totaling $4,006 per month.
The estranged couple is due to return to court next month to decide on a restraining order Dern filed in April and the final custody agreement.
Dern said Wednesday that she took out her anger over her personal life in the fight against Hill. Over the course of five rounds, she dominated the UFC vet and nearly finished the match on several occasions. The official scorecards reflected the lopsided score: 49-43 and 49-44 twice. They both earned $50,000 in “Fight of the Night” bonuses.
“Absolutely nothing personal,” Dern said of her performance. “If I didn’t do it to her, she would definitely do it to me. So I was very grateful that my business gave me that opportunity, and that aggression was just for the sake of this fight.”