UFC free fight: Mackenzie Dern taps Randa Markos with nasty, first-round armbar to earn $50k bonus
There’s plenty of evidence in the octagon that Mackenzie Dern is a world-class grappler. And there might be no better fight to showcase that than the one against Randa Markos.
Back in September 2020, Dern left many speechless with her quick and dominant win over Markos on the main card of UFC Fight Night 178. Dern was able to tie up and bring Markos to the ground from her back early in the first, and from there, it was all domination.
Dern would transition from attack to attack until she eventually swept and mounted Markos. From there she locked in a nasty armbar and shortly after got the tap. It was an impressive showing.
You can watch Dern’s crazy jiu-jitsu in the video above.
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Dern is set to return to the cage this Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 224. She takes on Angela Hill in a women’s strawweight matchup. The card goes down at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams on ESPN+.
Dern (12-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC) looks to bounce back from a majority decision loss to Yan Xiaonan from last October. She’s currently 1-2 in her past three fights, a run that put a halt to a four-fight winning streak.
Hill (15-12 MMA, 10-12 UFC) is coming off back-to-back wins over Emily Ducote and Lupita Godinez. This two-fight winning streak snapped a 1-5 rut for Hill that extended from 2020 to 2022.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 224.
