Women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern is one of the UFC’s biggest stars — but she’s already got her eyes on a post-MMA career.
Dern, 33, exclusively told Us that she’d open to transitioning to the WWE whenever she decides to leave the octagon behind.
“Oh yeah, that’d be fun. So much fun,” she said at the UFC 331 on Paramount+ red carpet at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 19. “I mean, the Bella [Twins]. It’s so cool. I’d be able to once I retire.”
Dern gave a nod to Nikki and Brie Bella, pioneers in the WWE women’s division who debuted back in 2008 and are showing no signs of slowing down.
Before pro wrestling potentially comes calling, however, Dern said she’d love to fight UFC Hall of Famer Ronda Rousey.
“Ronda Rousey is a lot bigger, but it would have been amazing to do like an exhibition match with her,” Dern said.
Rousey, 39, fought primarily at bantamweight during her time in the UFC. The bantamweight division has a minimum weight of 125 pounds and a maximum weight of 135 pounds. The strawweight division, where Dern fights, has no minimum weight but a maximum weight of 115 pounds.
When Rousey fought Gina Carano earlier in this year, the two competed at featherweight, which has a 145-pound limit.
Away from the world of MMA, Dern is mother to 7-year-old daughter, Moa, who she shares with her ex-husband, Wesley Santos.
“I always knew I wanted to be a mom and still be active,” she told Us. “I didn’t want to wait to have kids when I retire, just because I think there’s so many values that we can pass and teach on. Not just the winning and the losing, but the sacrifices, no matter what she decides to do in her life. I think the type of adversity and the type of discipline that the sport teaches you in MMA, I hope that will be great for her.”
Dern said having her daughter has been “basically the biggest motivation for me to accomplish everything.”
She added, “It’s great to have her in my corner, and I hope she knows I’m always in hers too.”
However, Dern explained that she’s not exactly keen on her daughter following in her footsteps.
“I don’t even want her to be a fighter,” Dern said. “You know what I mean? If she can just be around [the sport] maybe as a journalist, doing interviews with the fighters. She knows what she’s talking about.”
