Chael Sonnen actually desires to see Mackenzie Dern succeed, although he has no concept why.
Almost six years faraway from their first-ever assembly contained in the Octagon, Dern evened the sequence in opposition to strawweight rival Amanda Ribas, scoring a third-round submission victory through armbar to maneuver her UFC report to 10-5.
Over time, Dern has emerged as a favourite amongst combat followers. Sadly, the BJJ sensation has carried out little to capitalize on her reputation — one thing Sonnen says goes again to earlier than her transfer into blended martial arts.
“I couldn’t return over Mackenzie’s profession and hand her one praise on something she’s carried out from an leisure side,” Sonnen stated on Good Man/Unhealthy Man with Daniel Cormier. “I couldn’t inform you one time she had a microphone in her hand and turned it right into a pipe bomb. I couldn’t inform you one alternative that she pushed all people else apart and got here and obtained it for herself.
“I might inform you earlier than she made her UFC debut, a man named Chael Sonnen referred to as her to do a pure grappling match, straight up jiu-jitsu in opposition to any person referred to as Miesha Tate, who was one of many greatest names in the entire sport, and there was no amount of cash to get Mackenzie on the airplane to do the match. Her reasoning? She desires to give attention to MMA. So, I’m making an attempt to clarify to her that if you wish to break into MMA, that is Miesha Tate, come get your cash, and he or she by no means did it” (h/t MMA Junkie).
Chael Sonnen insists Mackenzie Dern is ‘Unaware of the game’
With a powerful displaying in opposition to Ribas and 4 Struggle Evening headliners in her rearview, Dern had a chance to get on the mic and shoot her shot. As a substitute, Dern remained humble and pressured that she was in no rush to problem for a world title.
In Sonnen’s eyes, it was a massively missed alternative and additional proof that Dern is solely “unaware of the game.”
“She decides she must get higher at jiu-jitsu, she leaves her father, Wellington ‘Megaton,’ one of many greatest stars there’s, goes out with Jason Parillo in California and begins hitting mitts which obtained her nowhere than lacking punches and blocking photographs together with her face,” Sonnen added. “I’ve by no means seen Mackenzie get it proper. Everybody likes her, myself included, everybody appears to be rooting for her for causes I actually can’t clarify to you, myself included.
“She appears like she does actually care about this sport. She talks about a few of her hardships and issues exterior the ring which do compel you very a lot to her, however so far as understanding what makes {dollars} has obtained to make sense, she doesn’t know what any of these phrases imply. I’ve by no means seen a second-generation athlete so unaware of the game that’s happening round them.”
