After she won her UFC debut, Strawweight prospect Mackenzie Dern asked to be on UFC 224 May 12 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Yesterday MMA Brasil reported that she got her wish. She will face Amanda Bobby Cooper. Amanda confirmed the fight on her Instagram. Of course Mackenzie is a BJJ champ and she has spent a lot of time in Brazil. So this is like a home game for her. Mackenzie won her UFC debut over Ashley Yoder by split decision. First of all, it should have been a unanimous decision but there was plenty of terrible judging on that show. The main problem Mackenzie had with Ashley was she had never faced a southpaw before. Her coach John Crouch of MMA Lab in Phoenix said he kept yelling that she was circling in the wrong direction. But by the third round, Mackenzie figured things out and almost got a finish before time ran out. We could see a similar fight here. Ashley was on TUF 23 and she lost in the finals to Tatiana Suarez. She is 26 years old from Bath, MI. Her UFC record is 2-2 and both her wins were over fighters who were immediately released. She has a fan following because of her looks. But she's not a high level fighter. She has yet to beat anyone who is perceived as better than her. And I haven't seen anything from her that makes me think she can. The other big problem she has in this fight is the Brazilian fans will cheer for Mackenzie. Of course there could always be an upset. But I see nothing in Amanda's history that says that she can do that. Obviously Mackenzie will be favoured but that was true of her last fight. I just want to see progress from her.
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