Mackenzie Dern secured a dramatic submission triumph over Amanda Ribas in the main event of the first UFC Fight Night of the year, held at the Apex Facility in Las Vegas on the morning of Sunday 12 January 2025.
REDEMPTION FOR @MACKENZIEDERN‼️#UFCVegas101 pic.twitter.com/Xz1ltijf9w
— UFC (@ufc) January 12, 2025
A well-balanced women’s strawweight match saw both Dern and Ribas enjoy moments of dominance via takedowns – the former bossed the grappling and submission attempts, but the latter was more powerful in the ground and pound.
In the third round, Dern threatened an armbar to sweep Ribas into full mount. From there, Dern worked her striking before attacking the arm again, ultimately unravelling her opponent’s defence before sinking in a Ronda Rousey-like armbar that forced a first submission loss from Ribas.
Dern moves to 15-5 in her career and has won back-to-back matches for the first time since 2020-21. The 31-year-old American is hoping to build further momentum.
“I just want to get another win in a row," Dern told commentator Michael Bisping post-fight. "I don't know who that would be. I hope someone in front of me [in the rankings], but I've fought most of them. The only one I haven't fought is Tatiana [Suarez] but she's fighting for the title.”
Make it back-to-back wins for Mackenzie Dern 💪 #UFCVegas101 pic.twitter.com/MrUIdnHtVR
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 12, 2025
The rest of the main card saw Santiago Ponzinibbio stop Carlston Harris in the third round of their welterweight co-main event; Cesar Almeida made quick work of Abdul Razak Alhassan with a first-round knockout in a middleweight bout; Roman Kopylov stopped Chris Curtis in the third round of their middleweight match; Christian Rodriguez out-pointed Austin Bashi in a featherweight fight; and the welterweight opener saw Punahele Soriano TKO Uros Medic in just over 30 seconds of the first round.
Next week brings UFC 311 from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on the morning of Sunday 19 January, headlined by championship fights in the lightweight (Islam Makhachev v Arman Tsarukyan) and bantamweight divisions (Merab Dvalishvili v Umar Nurmagomedov).
UFC Fight Night: Dern v Ribas – Main card results
- Main event: Women’s strawweight: Mackenzie Dern def. Amanda Ribas via submission (armbar), R3, 4:56
- Welterweight: Santiago Ponzinibbio def. Carlston Harris via TKO (punches), R3, 3:13
- Middleweight: Cesar Almeida def. Abdul Razak Alhassan via KO (punch), R1, 4:14
- Middleweight: Roman Kopylov def. Chris Curtis via TKO (head kick), R3, 4:59
- Featherweight: Christian Rodriguez def. Austin Bashi via unanimous decision (29-28 29-28 29-28), R3, 5:00
- Welterweight: Punahele Soriano def. Uros Medic via KO (punches), R1, 0:31