Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts are inextricably linked. The UFC started with the original curiosity, ‘Which martial art is the most popular in the world?’ In the first UFC event in 1993, Hois Gracie (57, Brazil), a master of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, came out as a jiu-jitsu representative. At that time, unlike now, the UFC had a representative for each martial art and clashed. Here, Gracie finished 3 games in 4 minutes and 55 seconds and won the championship lightly. Those who watched the game at this time had no choice but to think this way. ‘Jiu-Jitsu is the world’s strongest martial art.’ It was the beginning of the Jiu-Jitsu boom.
Since then,메이저놀이터 several Jiu-Jitsu specialists have appeared in the UFC. Then, in 2018, an incident occurred that drew the attention of martial arts fans around the world. The world’s top female Jiu-Jitsu fighter, Mackenzie Dunn (30, USA), was the news that she would make her UFC debut.
Dunn was a ‘jiu-jitsu gold spoon’ with seven gold medals in the black belt (highest grade) category of the world’s three major jiu-jitsu competitions. He won two World Championships, two Pan Am Championships, and three Abu Dhabi World Professional Championships.
The news of the Jiu-Jitsu genius entering the UFC sparked fans’ interest. Dunn, who won by decision before his debut, gained momentum in his second match by winning a submission by rear naked choke. However, in the third game, she was defeated by Amanda Rivas (30, Brazil) by unanimous decision, and after that, she wanted to go straight to the title match with four consecutive wins, but lost again to Marina Rodriguez (36, Brazil) by unanimous decision and lost momentum. Afterwards, she beat Tessia Torres by decision, but in a recent game, she lost again by decision to Yan Xiaonan (34, China).
Dunn, who is ranked 8th in the UFC women’s strawweight rankings, will return to the main event of ‘UFC Fight Night’ in Las Vegas, USA on the 21st (Korean time). Only 7 months since her last match loss. Her opponent is Angela Hill (38, USA), ranked 14th in the rankings. She met Dawn last 18 days via zoom.
Dunn said he learned a lot from the loss in the last game. Dunn said, “The match against Yan Xiaonan was very close. Top fighters know how to fight like a ‘sport’ and how to use the rules,” he said. He said, “Now, I will not panic even if I do not succeed in the submission in the ground situation,” and “I will focus on winning the round with various attacks such as ground and pound and elbow.”
Originally, the match was scheduled to take place last week. However, the fight was pushed back by a week to this week as the UFC rescheduled another fight. As the match was postponed for a week, the match between Dunn and Hill was promoted to the main event. The main event will be held in 5 rounds instead of 3 rounds.
Dunn said, “I was in perfect condition for last week’s game, but it was delayed for a week, so it’s okay.” I think it’s a good opportunity to turn into the main event.” When asked if the sudden change in the 5th round does not burden her stamina, she said, “I always think about the 5th round and train.”
He showed confidence in his opponent Hill, calling him ‘an experienced and tough player’. Hill said she entered the UFC in 2017 and is a veteran with 19 fights. However, he won 9 times and lost 10 times, so it is evaluated that the limit is clear to some extent. “Hill has fought a lot of fighters,” said Dunn, but she has “never met a fighter like me.” He continued, “I’m trying to be a bit intelligent in this game,” and “rather than thinking, ‘Let’s go out and finish it,’ I will induce Hill to make mistakes and use various attacks such as submission, ground and pound, elbow attack, and knee attack.” . “I mean, I’m going to do it aggressively, but I’m going to do it cleverly,” Dunn added.
Dunn aims for former champion Rose Namajunas (31, USA) after winning this game. Namajunas, who is excellent at striking with a long reach, has been resting since losing the title match in May last year. Dunn said, “If I win this match, I want to face Rose Namajunas. Next, Dawn said, “If Yan Xiaonan doesn’t fight for the title, a rematch with Yan Xiaonan is good.”
The current UFC women’s strawweight champion is Zhang Weili (34, China). Zhang Weili will defend her title against Amanda Lemos (36, Brazil) at UFC292 this coming August. Dunn said, “If the game goes to the judgment, I expect Amanda Lemos to win, and if it goes to the judgment, I expect Jean Whaley to win.”
Dawn is a ‘mom fighter’ who gave birth to her daughter Moa (4) in 2019. Dunn said that this training camp was particularly difficult. She ended up getting a divorce because she was in court and couldn’t fully focus on her training. “There are a lot of things to deal with in order to get a divorce, such as child custody and financial issues,” Dunn said. He added, “The head coach also left the gym for a month to watch Luke Rockhold play.”
But Dunn doesn’t care. He believes that she was rather a blessing in disguise. Dunn said, “Even a month ago, I thought, ‘Wow, can I play in this state? I had the mindset of ‘let’s do it’. He is motivated,” he said. Next, Dunn said, “Many things overlapped, but it seems to have worked well for me in the end,” and “I came to see a different perspective on how to fight.” It is the intention of growing up in the psychological aspect.
When asked to say hello to Korean fans, Dawn smiled brightly and said. “Thank you Korean fans! I sincerely hope to see you soon. It would be nice to go and have a seminar and communicate. Thank you for your support!”