Tag: Mackenzie Dern

UFC star Paul Costa made light of Gabi Garcia’s domestic abuse allegations with inappropriate joke

Gabi GarciaWomen’s mixed martial artist Gabi Garcia has publicly accused her husband of domestic abuse. Garcia, an undefeated fighter and accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, recently took to Instagram claiming that her husband, Bruno Almeida, had been physically abusive throughout their relationship. “The time has come. It’s time to be brave and tell everyone why I’ve been […]

Gabi Garcia

Women’s mixed martial artist Gabi Garcia has publicly accused her husband of domestic abuse.

Garcia, an undefeated fighter and accomplished Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, recently took to Instagram claiming that her husband, Bruno Almeida, had been physically abusive throughout their relationship.

“The time has come. It’s time to be brave and tell everyone why I’ve been away for the past two years,” Garcia said. “They were the worst years of my life, but I’ll show all the details at the end of this week. I didn’t think this could ever happen. That someone could be so bad. A criminal. A person who has commited crimes before and after he was with me. A person who has money and asked for pension, my purses, my earrings. Asking for my house. Using the name Garcia.”

“Married, with a son and using my last name. A person who says she is a child of God, who went to my wedding and wrote ‘God bless you’ is still his lover,” Garcia added. “Because that guy won’t divorce me. Even with a restraining order and the Maria da Penha law (A Brazilian law created to protect women who were victim of domestic violence) by my side, he didn’t stop. There are 19 cases of fraud on my credit card, closed my accounts in three different banks. I would get home to no water, no power. He took the money from my payments.

“I had to go to court to prove that I’m the owner of my own house. He lied to his lawyer by saying that it was rented. He asked for my Chanel earrings, my purse collection, pension. He had people intimidating me. Job? He doesnt’ have one. He lives on allowance from his mother. I’m posting everything. We have to believe in the law. My parents have depression, I can’t leave my house. I still have to put a finish to some wars, though. I’ll tell my fans every single detail so I can help women who have been abused,” Garcia concluded.

Paulo Costa Makes Light of Gabi Garcia’s Horrifying Situation

After pouring her heart out on social media, fans and fighters rallied around Gabi Garcia and showed their support for the Brazilian combat sports icon. Unfortunately, not everyone had something nice to say. Enter Paulo Costa, the UFC’s self-appointed comedian. Costa has developed a reputation over the last year for taking clever cracks at his co-workers. For the most part, they are genuinely humorous and relatively light-hearted, but ‘The Eraser’ appears to have stepped over the line this time.

In response to Gabi Garcia’s story, Costa tweeted out an image of the especially jacked Brazilian and asked, “Who the hell was her husband, Thanos?”

Gabi Garcia primarily competed under the RIZIN banner in Japan but she has been absent from the MMA scene since 2018 after going 6-0 to kick off her career. Garcia has remained active in submission grappling, most recently competing at the ADCC world championships last year.

Sadly, Gabi Garcia is the second female fighter to come out about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a man she once loved and trusted. Rising contender Mackenzie Dern also opened up about her experience with domestic violence following a decisive win over Angela Hill last month.

UFC star Mackenzie Dern reveals embattled relationship with estranged husband, domestic abuse accusation

Mackenzie Dern UFC embattled relationship with husband domestic abuse accusationsMackenzie Dern opened up about the ongoing battle with her estranged husband, Wesley Santos, during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani. Mackenzie Dern is fresh off a big win over Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73. Through the 25-minute affair, Dern delivered a dominant performance that moved her to the No. 7 […]

Mackenzie Dern UFC embattled relationship with husband domestic abuse accusations

Mackenzie Dern opened up about the ongoing battle with her estranged husband, Wesley Santos, during an appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani.

Mackenzie Dern is fresh off a big win over Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73. Through the 25-minute affair, Dern delivered a dominant performance that moved her to the No. 7 spot in the strawweight rankings. She also pocketed a well-deserved $50,000 bonus for her efforts, but as it turns out, that was not the only fight Mackenzie Dern was in the midst of.

Appearing on Wednesday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Mackenzie Dern shared details of the fractured relationship she eluded to during her post-fight interview earlier this month.

“So I feel like I’ve been having to defend myself this whole time for things that I never thought I’d have to defend myself for,” she said, later adding, “I was in a situation in my relationship where I couldn’t even defend myself, because I was getting, like, threatened that if I did anything, I’d be talking to the police and I could lose my daughter.

“So, I stayed in my relationship because I believed in the family, and I believe that that’s what God wanted and stuff. But there’s a certain point where you try, try, and try, and things don’t change, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. And then, like I was saying, I wasn’t even able to defend myself. Like, police were getting called to the house. It was just getting out of control, and going through that in front of your daughter, you don’t want your daughter to witness that.”

Santos Has Continually Denied Mackenzie Dern’s Domestic Violence Accusations

Wesley Santos vehemently denied Mackenzie Dern’s allegations in a prepared statement.

“I am disappointed that Mackenzie chose to make public statements about our divorce, especially since it involves the custody of our beautiful daughter, Moa,” he wrote. “Because we are in the middle of legal proceedings, I cannot comment on anything at this time, except to say that Mackenzie’s statements are false and defamatory.”

A month before her return to the Octagon, court documents were filed with both making domestic abuse claims as the custody battle over their three-year-old daughter, Moa, turned ugly. Dern accused Santos of repeated physical and emotional abuse, revealing that he had allegedly slammed a door on her legs whilst dragging her into their home. Dern filed a petition for a restraining order, citing domestic violence. Dern included videos showing an incident where Santos is said to have “threw my phone, water bottles, pillows, and bedding while harassing/intimidating me verbally,” according to Dern.

Santos has denied every accusation of abuse and countered Dern’s claim, stating that he was the victim of abuse. Santo also provided pictures and a video of himself with a bloody nose, the result of a punch delivered by Dern during an altercation outside of a restaurant. Santos also accused Dern of physically assaulting their daughter.

“I never physically attacked Mackenzie, she is an MMA fighter,” Santos wrote in a court filing. “I would never even try to get physical with her. I would have no chance.”

Dern and Santo will be back in court next month to rule on the restraining order filed by Dern last month and to present a final custody agreement.

Video – Michael Bisping chokes out Jackass star Steve-O inside the Octagon after UFC Vegas 73

Michael BispingMichael Bisping scored his own finish at UFC Vegas 73 on Saturday night. The former UFC middleweight champion was on hand for what turned out to be a spectacular night of fights at The APEX in Las Vegas. In the main event of the evening, Mackenzie Dern delivered a show-stealing performance against the always-game Angela […]

Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping scored his own finish at UFC Vegas 73 on Saturday night.

The former UFC middleweight champion was on hand for what turned out to be a spectacular night of fights at The APEX in Las Vegas. In the main event of the evening, Mackenzie Dern delivered a show-stealing performance against the always-game Angela Hill, but the action didn’t stop there. Following the broadcast, Michael Bisping was called into the Octagon to join Jackass star Steve-O.

With one-time middleweight title challenger Marvin Vettori by his side, ‘The Count’ was tasked with choking out Steve-O inside the cage, a wish ‘The Count’ was more than happy to grant. In the video clip, which you can see below, Michael Bisping sends the professional(?) stuntman to la-la land in a matter of seconds.

Of course, Steve-O comes to moments later and appears to be genuinely excited by the feeling of lost consciousness.

Once he got the Jackass star back to his feet, Michael Bisping turned his attention toward the camera where he congratulated the night’s big winner. “Mackenzie Dern got the job done tonight. Congratulations to her. Great striking and jiu-jitsu as always,” Bisping said. With the victory, the No. 8 ranked strawweight moved to 8-3 inside the Octagon. She is just 2-2 in her last four, but those losses came against two of the best in the division, Marina Rodriguez and Yan Xiaonan.

Saturday was a big night for women’s mixed martial arts as four fighters saw their hands raised, including perennial contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The Polish Princess scored her third-straight win as she continued a career renaissance, besting streaking standout Vanessa Demopoulos. Elsewhere, Natalia Silva delivered a brilliant performance against Victoria Leonardo while Loopy Godinez made it two in a row against Emily Ducote.

Dern vs. Hill was appropriately dubbed Fight of the Night, earning both competitors a $50,000 bonus for their effort.

Mackenzie Dern eyes fight with ex-Champion Rose Namajunas next after emphatic UFC Vegas 73 win

Mackenzie Dern calls for fight with Rose Namajunas following UFC Vegas 73Mackenzie Dern announced her return to form this weekend in her violent showcase against Angela Hill and already has her eyes set on a former UFC champion in her quest for a title shot. American-Brazilian BJJ specialist Mackenzie Dern was back to her brilliant best this weekend as she put on a well-rounded clinic in […]

Mackenzie Dern calls for fight with Rose Namajunas following UFC Vegas 73

Mackenzie Dern announced her return to form this weekend in her violent showcase against Angela Hill and already has her eyes set on a former UFC champion in her quest for a title shot.

American-Brazilian BJJ specialist Mackenzie Dern was back to her brilliant best this weekend as she put on a well-rounded clinic in the UFC Apex-based main event against the ever-game Angela Hill that earned the pairing fight of the night.

With an altogether more aggressive style than we are used to, Dern’s arsenal of weaponry was on full display, scoring knockdowns on the feet, as well as a newfound ground-and-pound assault that adds to her already considerable BJJ attacks on the mat.

What’s more, Mackenzie Dern maintained her level throughout the five rounds, always looking to cause damage. So impressive was her performance, that many on social media were quick to note that should she maintain this amount of pressure and violence with consistency, Dern may yet hold a belt in the strawweight division.

Mackenzie Dern calls out Rose Namajunas

There may be no quicker route to a title shot than the one Dern has chosen, through Rose Namajunas. The two-time former champion is yet to be seen n the cage since her disappointing loss to Carla Esparza back at UFC 274, in May of 2022. Many have questioned whether “Thug Rose” has much interest in returning, but that didn’t stop Dern from shooting her shot. Speaking to Michael Bisping post-fight, Dern told him of her desire to test herself against the divisions elite:

“I don’t know what Rose is up to, but if she’s going to continue fighting, I want to fight Rose,” Dern told cage side commentator Michael Bisping.

“I’ve never fought an ex-champion. I feel like I could have that opportunity now.”

Mackenzie Dern has now stepped into the cage 11 times under the UFC banner, but Rose Namajunas would certainly be by far the biggest of her blossoming career.

Who do you think wins, Dern or Namajunas?

Mackenzie Dern pummels Angela Hill in dominant striking and grappling performance – UFC Vegas 73 Highlights

Mackenzie DernNo. 8 ranked contender Mackenzie Dern looked to continue her climb up the strawweight rankings as she squared off with the always-active Angela Hill in the UFC Vegas 73 main event on Saturday night. Hill, sitting in the No. 14 spot in the rankings, had a chance to thrust herself into the division’s top ten, […]

Mackenzie Dern

No. 8 ranked contender Mackenzie Dern looked to continue her climb up the strawweight rankings as she squared off with the always-active Angela Hill in the UFC Vegas 73 main event on Saturday night. Hill, sitting in the No. 14 spot in the rankings, had a chance to thrust herself into the division’s top ten, should she leave The APEX with arguably the biggest win of her mixed martial arts career.

Both women came out ready to throw hands from the opening bell. Surprisingly, Dern appeared to have the advantage on the feet which allowed her to put pressure on Hill early. Throwing ‘Overkill’ off-balance with some beautiful striking, Dern was able to take things to the mat where she nearly locked in an arm bar, but simply ran out of time in the opening round.

Hill was able to slow things down and potentially even things up in the second round, but the pace most certainly picked up again in the third with Dern landing a massive knee that rocked Hill. Dern took the opportunity to drag Hill to the canvas once again and easily slipped into a full mount. Dern delivered an onslaught of strikes, but Hill continued moving and defending, preventing the ref from stepping in. Miraculously, Hill survived the round.

The final 10 minutes of the contest was all Dern as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu beauty took Hill down at will and punished her for a majority of the remaining two rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Official Result: Mackenzie Dern def. Angela Hill via unanimous decision (49-43, 49-44, 45-44)

Check Out Highlights From Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73 Below: