Brendan Schaub: "The Chances Of Mackenzie Dern Being UFC Champion Are Not Good"
Brendan Schaub doesn't see Mackenzie Dern winning UFC gold unless she makes drastic changes.
Dern was seen in action at UFC 295 on November 11 inside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Dern hoped to score a big win over former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. It was not meant to be on this night, as Andrade used her power punching to score a second-round TKO finish.
While Dern has been known for her grappling abilities, she couldn't get it going against Andrade. When it came to the standup, Dern was clearly outmatched despite improvements she has made in that department.
During an episode of "The Schaub Show," Brendan Schaub said a problem many fighters face during training is that they fall in love with the standup when they find success with it and solely focus on offense.
"When you sign up for striking, everybody wants to work on offense," Schaub said. "The way you become world champion is your defense."
As far as Dern's UFC title hopes are concerned, Schaub says it isn't looking good for the Brazilian.
"For Mackenzie Dern, you can tell she's just uncomfortable," Schaub said. "In the exchanges her chin's up, she's winging it, and then you fight these girls who sit in the pocket, man, and it's gonna get tough for her. The chances of her being champion are not good. It's just not good, and this happens when someone has an extensive grappling base and they can't [apply] their will, they can't get an opponent down, you're forced to strike. You're screwed."
Schaub suggested that Dern should make a significant camp change by going to Dagestan to "embrace that wrestling and take every single opponent down."
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