Mackenzie Dern is taking plenty of positives away from her latest setback.
Dern was outpointed by Rodriguez over five rounds in the UFC Vegas 39 headliner yesterday in what was a back-and-forth contest that earned Fight of the Night honors.
Dern’s best and most decisive round was in the second when she controlled Rodriguez on the ground for over four minutes in what could have been a 10-8 round.
However, the jiu-jitsu specialist was unable to go for the kill as Rodriguez survived and used her striking to eventually come out on top with a unanimous decision win.
For Dern, it snapped a four-fight winning streak and potential title contention in the women’s strawweight division. However, she remained positive in an Instagram post Sunday as she goes back to the drawing board.
“Thank you everyone for all the support! Yesterday wasn’t the result I was training for, but this fight is the biggest learning experience for me! Now I have a lot to look back on and fix to become a better fighter! For sure a submission would have been great but to have these rounds for me to work on is such a blessing!
“Congrats Marina for the win! I hope you guys enjoyed the fight and thanks @danawhite for the FOTN 
Thank you to my family, my team, my friends and everyone who continues to support me! Letssss gooo!”
Despite the loss, Dern’s stock certainly rose and it’ll be interesting to see how she responds in her next outing.