UFC Vegas 39 went down last night (Sat., Oct. 9, 2021) inside UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada featuring a main event bout that saw Marina Rodriguez defeat Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision (see it again here). In the co-main event, Randy Brown defeated Jared Gooden, also via unanimous decision.
Biggest Winner: Marina Rodriguez
The women’s 115-pound division has a new threat in town. Well, she’s not exactly new, but Rodriguez really put everyone on notice after her latest conquest inside the Octagon, dominating Mackenzie Dern to earn a clear-cut unanimous decision victory. That is now three straight wins for the Brazilian standout, who only has one loss in her MMA career, which came against former division champion Carla Esparza. Other than that, Rodriguez has been on a tear, taking out some of the best the division has to offer such as Cynthia Calvillo and Tecia Torres. Her resume looks even better since her last three wins have come against Amanda Ribas, Michelle Waterson and now Dern. If Mackenzie was to be in the championship conversation with a win, the same right should go to Rodriguez after putting on a clinic against the jiu-jitsu ace.
Runner Up: Alexander Romanov
We could have gone with several options here such as Mariya Agapova, who scored an impressive rear-naked choke win over Sabina Mazo. And Steve Garcia, who knocked out Charlie Ontiveros. But we are going with Romanov here, who improved to a whopping 15-0 and earned his fourth straight win under the UFC banner after he knocked out Jared Vanderaa in the second round of their 265-pound fight. The win should be good enough to earn him a spot in the Top 15, which will increase his stock and aspirations of getting bigger and better fights moving forward. If he can keep this up, Romanov could make his way into the Top 10 sooner, rather than later.
Biggest Loser: Mackenzie Dern
Coming into the fight, many felt Dern was one win away from earning a shot at the women’s strawweight title. Instead, the jiu-jitsu ace will have to go back to the drawing board and start from scratch after having her four fight win streak snapped by Rodriguez. Dern did have some success early in the grappling department, but once Rodriguez found her timing and space, she put on a striking clinic that Dern simply had no answer for. Dern did everything she could to boost herself into the Top 5 and into the championship picture, but after her latest defeat (her second ever), she will have to rack up some impressive wins in hurry in order to maintain her position.
For complete UFC Vegas 39 results and coverage click here.