Amidst the rush to anoint 2015 The Year of Our Lord and Savior Ronda Rousey by everyone from ESPN to your great aunt who saw her on Good Morning America, there’s been another outstanding female combat sports athlete putting together a fantastic 2015.
Just like Rousey, Mackenzie Dern has her art in her blood and was taught it from the crib. Like Rousey, Dern had a parent with world-class credentials; her father, Wellington Dias, is a world-renowned ace at his craft, trained by some of the best practitioners ever. Unlike Rousey, Mackenzie Dern’s craft isn’t judo, it’s jiu jitsu.
Yes, jiu jitsu, though not an Olympic sport like judo, there is no lack of international events to earn credentials, with one being the pinnacle of the sport, like the Olympics, which we’ll get to later.
Dern’s wake of bodies all over the globe this year has been an unmatched swath of destruction in the combat sports year unmatched by anyone. She started the year off in January winning the silver medals in both her own division, to Michelle Nicolini, but shockingly, also in the absolute (openweight) division, to Gabi Garcia in the IBJJF European Open in Lisbon, Portugal. Nicolini is a legend in the sport. An eight-time world champion, an ADCC gold medalist, three-time Pan-Am champion, the achievements go on and on. If Michelle Nicolini is a legend, then Gabrielle, Gabi if you’re nasty, Garcia, is an icon; a titan; a both figurative and literal giant of the sport of jiu jitsu. Garcia is freakishly large, freakishly strong, and freakishly technical and adept. She was Wanderlei Silva’s coach on The Ultimate Fighter, if you need even more street cred for her.
Suffice it to say, losing to either woman, especially Garcia, was no source of shame, especially Dern just being 21 at the time.
Next for Dern and the rest of the BJJ world was the Pan-American Championships from Irvine, California in March. Little more than one week from her 22nd birthday, Dern won a gold medal in her division, all wins via submission, and, once again a silver medal in the absolute division, defeating women much bigger, stronger, and more experienced than her, before falling to Gabi Garcia once again, and failing to topple her six-year undefeated reign.
Then came April 25. Undoubtedly the biggest day in Mackenzie Dern’s career and one of the most noteworthy days in BJJ history. On that day, the finals of the Abu Dhabi World Pro were wrapped up, with Dern taking home another gold medal, but this time, she vanquished Michelle Nicolini to do it, avenging her loss from the European open. Then came the absolute division, and Dern was a house of fire, submitting everything in her way in that tournament, no matter how big or small, until the biggest of them all loomed. Gabi Garcia once again waited for Mackenzie Dern in the absolute finals.
Then…
This.
She had done it. For the first time in six years, Gabi Garcia, perhaps the greatest female grappler of all time, was defeated. It wasn’t a submission, and it surely wasn’t dominant, but it was a win. She had finally done it. David slung Goliath, and Dern was on top of the BJJ world.
In May at the IBJJF World Championships, after the biggest moment and the biggest win in women’s Jiu Jitsu maybe ever, you’d have to expect a bit of a letdown, right? Lulz. Gold medal. Not only another gold, not only did she do it against Nicolini, but unlike her last win, she did it via submission.
August 2nd brought the first edition of Five Grappling’s Super League. In a one-night, eight-woman, tournament, Dern submitted all four of her opponents and took home a $10,000 prize for her troubles.
Then it was time.
ADCC.
The Abu Dhabi Combat Club.
Quite simply, the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship is the Olympics of Grappling. It’s held every two years in locations all over the world. The best of the very best, the cream of the crop, have performed and won in Abu Dhabi. You’re not a legend until you do. Andre Galvao, Roger Gracie, Royler Gracie, Ricardo Arona, Dean Lister, Braulio Estima, Robert Drysdale, Jacare Souza, Demian Maia, Mario Sperry, Vinny Magalhaes, and, of course, Michelle Nicolini and Gabi Garcia are some of the names that have earned gold around their necks on the podium.
After not even being in the field in 2013, Mackenzie Dern won the gold medal in the most prestigious grappling tournament in the world. At just 22 years old, she’s reached the top of the mountain in her craft.
Then what’s next for Dern? Well, the MMA whispers are getting louder and louder. There’s no debate that, unless she wants to pad her legacy, there’s nothing else she can really do in jiu jitsu, and at such a young age, she could accomplish great things in MMA. Like the aforementioned Ronda Rousey when she transitioned from judo to MMA, she’s dominant enough in her craft to coast by until she develops other skills. Also, like Rousey, she’s young, charismatic, and attractive; all things that do not hurt one’s career in sports.
So while you’re reading your seventeenth Rousey article this week, if you start to get burnt out, the time is now to invest in Mackenzie Dern.
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