A biography for Mackenzie Dernhasn’t been written yet.
“I have the best jiu-jitsu, I believe, in the women's division.”
“In the fight, you have adrenaline and don't feel anything until it is over.”
“I feel good at 115.”
“I'm all about fighting.”
“Jiu-jitsu in MMA, if you're good in jiu-jitsu, people pay attention to that, instead of judo.”
“I mean I'm a former ADCC champion, so for me, I'm always happy when I see the MMA girls doing jiu-jitsu and things like that.”
“My focus is to represent women and change that idea that the only women that can sell is women that are seen by people as beautiful because, to me, every woman is beautiful, every woman is pretty and everybody puts on a show.”
“I don't want to get to the belt without ever going to a second or third round, without ever being in trouble in a fight, without ever being knocked down and being scared.”
“Hopefully, I can keep my body healthy for as long as I can.”
“I'll do anything to represent jiu-jitsu.”
“I always knew I wanted to be a mom and not retire.”
“My entire life here in the United States, I only speak Portuguese.”
“You can still be this tough athlete and be feminine. You don't have to lose your femininity.”
“Instead of being watched by a babysitter as a kid, I'd go to work with my dad at his Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy. I'd watch Disney movies on the TV - but I'd also watch what he was doing. I started training at 3 years old and entered my first tournament when I was 6.”
“I don't know, maybe a lot of girls won't even want to fight me.”
“In Brazil, there's the beach, there's partying. It's hard to be focused.”
“In jiu-jitsu, the people who know me, they call me 'Megatinha,' and 'Megatinha' is like a little 'Megaton.'”
“If I can help to get girls to do MMA and do fighting and just to say, 'No, we can live off this too. We can have sponsors,' then I'm happy.”
“Really I want to win a title at 115.”
“People either grow, or don't show up for the third round so I think it's definitely more dangerous to fight someone that grows in the third round.”