Popular strawweight prospect Mackenzie Dern is set to return to the octagon against Hannah Cifers on May 23.
Dern has not competed since losing for the first time in her career against Amanda Ribas in October 2019. She previously boasted a perfect 7-0 record and was one of the brightest prospects in womens MMA.
The Brazilian-American previously took an 18-month hiatus from MMA in order to have her first child. She’ll now be hoping to get back into the title picture, starting with Cifers on May 23 according to MMA Fighting who report.
“MMA Fighting has learned that a strawweight bout between Mackenzie Dern and Hannah Cifers is tentatively set for a yet-to-be-announced show on May 23. It’s still unclear if the event will take place in Jacksonville, Fla., like the other events.”
Dern was originally set to face Ariane Carnelossi on April 25 at UFC Lincoln. However, that fight was scrapped as Carnelossi was unable to travel due from her native Brazil due to the coronavirus. Eventually, the entire card was cancelled and the UFC began making plans to hold all future events in Florida.
So far the MMA promotion has announced three cards will take place in Jacksonville, Florida next month. On May 9 the UFC 249 shows originally scheduled for April 18 will take place with Tony Ferguson facing Justin Gaethje in the main event.
Two more events will take place the following week on May 13 and May 16. All three shows are due to go down at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. As of yet, it is unclear if this fight will take place in the same arena or elsewhere. UFC president Dana White has continuously spoken about holding fights on an island – although this is likely to be reserved for international fighters who are unable to travel to the U.S.
Can Mackenzie Dern get back to winning ways against Hannah Cifers?