Chael Sonnen scorched UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern for a missed opportunity at UFC Vegas 101.
UFC strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern won the promotion's first main event of the year at UFC Vegas 101 over a familiar foe, Amanda Ribas, by submission. After a back-and-forth through the first few rounds of the fight, Dern secured an armbar submission in the closing seconds of round 3 to start her 2025 with an impressive performance.
Dern has now won two fights in a row and is marching towards a potential title shot. Despite being given post-fight microphone time to call out the winner of the upcoming title fight between Zhang Weili and Tatiana Suarez, Dern did not call for a title shot and shared an unfocused plan for her next UFC fight.
Sonnen, whose storied career has seen some of the biggest post-fight callouts, believes Dern's failure to invite anyone to UFC Vegas 101 will keep her from the title.
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Chael Sonnen blasts Mackenzie Dern for post-fight comments at UFC Vegas 101
During a recent episode of Good Guy/Bad Guy with Daniel Cormier, Sonnen berated Dern for not calling for a title shot following her UFC Vegas 101 win.
“I couldn't go back to Mackenzie's career and give her one compliment about everything she's done in entertainment, I couldn't tell you one time she had a microphone in her hand and turned it into a pipe bomb,” Sonnen said. “I can tell you before she made her UFC debut, a guy named Chael Sonnen called her for a straight wrestling match, straight Jiu-Jitsu against someone named Miesha Tate, who was one of the biggest names in the entire sport. And there was no money to get Mackenzie on a plane to do the match. Her reasoning? She wanted to focus on MMA.
“I tried to explain to her that if she wanted to break into MMA, this is Miesha Tate, take your money. And she never did that…missing punches, blocking shots with her face. I've never seen Mackenzie proven right… everyone likes her including myself, everyone seems to be behind her for reasons I really can't explain to you.
“She looks like she really cares about the sport… but as far as understanding what makes dollars makes sense, she doesn't know what those words mean. I have never seen a second-generation athlete so oblivious to the sport happening around him.”
At the time of writing, Dern has not yet responded to Sonnen's criticism. She is the daughter of Megaton Dias, a highly decorated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu wrestler.
Mackenzie Dern called for the fight against No. 1 despite no call being made after the fight
Once hailed as the “next Ronda Rousey,” Dern has had an up-and-down run in her UFC career. She has defeated the likes of Angela Hill, Virna Jandiroba and Loopy Godinez, but has suffered defeats to eventual title challengers Amanda Lemos and Yan Xiaonan.
After defeating Ribas at UFC Vegas 101, Dern is making a strong case for a No. 1 contender fight against another topweight, possibly in a rematch against Xiaonan. But she could also be called up to be the backup fighter for Weili vs. Suarez at UFC 312.
Despite her strong performance at UFC Vegas 101, Dern lacked clear direction in her post-fight comments, and Sonnen believes she made a big mistake by not placing herself among the top contenders.
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