Preview: UFC on ESPN 9 ‘Woodley vs. Burns’

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Women’s Strawweights

Mackenzie Dern (7-1) vs. Hannah Cifers (10-4)

ODDS: Dern (-430), Cifers (+345)

The latest showcase for Dern did not exactly work out. She basically came out of the womb practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which, when combined with her power and physicality for the strawweight division—as long as she can make weight—makes her a top prospect to watch.

Dern’s striking remains a bit of a mess, as she does little besides throw bombs. However, through two UFC bouts, that was not much of a problem, as she beat Ashley Yoder before blowing Amanda Bobby Cooper out of the water. After that, Dern took 17 months off to have a baby and came back against a relative unknown Amanda Ribas, who has subsequently looked like an excellent prospect in her own right. As a result, what was supposed to be a soft return for Dern instead turned into a coming-out party for Ribas: She handled Dern on the feet, controlled the fight on the ground and took an easy decision.

Now Dern looks to rebound against Cifers and should not have much trouble doing so. Cifers has some tricky physicality and a simple but consistent game, but she has had issues against larger and more powerful opponents, and Dern certainly qualifies. The pick is Dern via first-round submission.

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