Rose Namajunas has been off the grid since he relinquished the strawweight crown to Carla Esparza in a memorable rematch at UFC 274, but the former champ remains one of the biggest names in the strawweight division.
Mackenzie Dern set her sights on “Thug” Rose after her dominant victory over Angela Hill at UFC Fight Night 223 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas Saturday night. Namajunas hasn’t fought mixed martial arts since May 2022, but Dern knows she’s been honing her wrestling skills in recent months.
“I follow her on social media and stuff, and I’ve seen her do regional work at ADCC or something,” Dern said at Saturday’s post-game press conference. “I’m a former ADCC champion, so I’m always happy when I see MMA girls doing jiu-jitsu. But, definitely, fighting Rose is a priority for me right now at this moment.”
Dern has won two of her last three appearances in the Octagon dating back to 2022 and has shown significant improvement in her stand, ground and pound encounters in her most recent matches. Her resume includes other notable wins over the likes of Tecia Torres, Virna Jandiroba, and Nina Nunes, but Namajunas will be her most significant victory.
“I think it will be a great fight, it will be a main event, and a good test for both of us,” said Dern. “So when I see her doing jiu-jitsu training, I’m like, ‘Yeah, this isn’t going to be an easy fight,’ but I think it could be a big fight for the crowd and for us.”
If Namajunas isn’t an option, Dern just wants to take on a higher ranked opponent in her next match.
“I’d like to rematch with [Xiaonan
Yan]I think she did a great job with Jessica
[Andrade]Dern said. “I think it was a really close fight [we
had], so I’d like to have that match again if Rose wasn’t available, or even Jessica Andrade – who’s also a former champion – but definitely someone in the Top 5. I’m ready for all of them. “