Saturday wasn’t Mackenzie Dern’s night.
The previously undefeated fighter Dern (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) suffered her first professional loss at the hands of Amanda Ribas (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) at UFC on ESPN+ 19.
The event took place Saturday at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. The card streamed on ESPN+.
For three rounds, Dern was outpointed, outstruck, and had any semblance of her grappling game shut down by Ribas. At the end of the night, the Brazilian had earned all three rounds from all three judges.
In a statement issued on Instagram on Sunday morning, Dern spoke on the loss for the first time.
“No excuses!” Dern wrote. “Wins and losses are part of life! Thank you to all my family, my coaches, my sponsors and all the fans that continue to believe in me! I have much ahead of me! Congrats to Amanda for the fight!”
The full post can be seen below:
Mackenzie Dern: 'No excuses' after first MMA loss at UFC on ESPN+ 19
