UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Mackenzie Dern is already thinking about life after MMA and WWE is on her radar as a possible next chapter.
Speaking with US Weekly, Dern said the idea of signing with WWE once her fighting career wraps up sounds like a lot of fun, pointing to the Bella Twins’ wrestling careers as an example she admires. She made clear the timeline would be after she’s finished with MMA, not a parallel pursuit.
Oh yeah, that’d be fun. So much fun. I mean, the Bella (twins). It’s so cool. I’d be able to once I retire.
Dern also floated a specific dream scenario: an exhibition match against Ronda Rousey. She acknowledged the size difference between them but said the matchup would still be something special to be part of.
Ronda Rousey is a lot bigger, but it would have been amazing to do like an exhibition match with her.
Dern has a long combat sports pedigree, having trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from a young age under her father, Wellington “Megaton” Dias, eventually becoming a third-degree black belt and multiple-time world champion in the discipline before transitioning to MMA in 2016 and debuting in the UFC in 2018.
Rousey’s own path from UFC standout to WWE Hall of Famer offers a real precedent for exactly the kind of crossover Dern is now imagining for herself, whenever her UFC career eventually comes to an end.
