Mackdenzie Dern (photo via UFC / YouTube)

By FCF Staff

Mackenzie Dern is one of the most decorated grapplers on the UFC roster, and at UFC Vegas on Saturday night, she added another accolade to her resume.

Dern faced Hannah Cifers at the event, and the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt finished the fight with a first round, knee bar. The bout marked the first time in UFC history that a woman secured a tap-out with a leg lock submission.

After the historic win, the 27-year-old fighter had this to say about the result (quotes via MMA Junkie).

“I’m so happy with my performance. I knew that Hannah wasn’t an easy girl,” Dern said. “She’s so tough and I didn’t want to get too much in the clinch with her and be in a brawling situation. So when I was in the clinch, I knew I was going to feel her strength and her muscles. As soon I was able to get the takedown, even though I was on bottom, the coaches said, ‘Don’t pull guard. If you’re on the bottom that’s fine, but don’t pull guard.’ So I got the takedown, went on bottom, and I was happy she wasn’t defending the leg much.

“That’s one of my specialties. I like leg locks a lot. You can look on YouTube – a lot of my jiu-jitsu matches are with that. So I was at home at that moment.”

With the win, Dern (8-1) returned to the win column, as she was coming off a decision loss to Amanda Ribas last October.