Mackenzie Dern arguably has the best jiu-jitsu in women’s MMA, yet, her opponent, Loopy Godinez, is not fazed by it.
Saturday, a pivotal women’s strawweight bout goes down on the main card of UFC on ABC 7 with Godinez (12-4 MMA, 7-4 UFC) clashing against Dern (13-5 MMA, 8-5 UFC). Many look to avoid the ground and any type of grappling when it comes to fighting Dern, a decorated jiu-jitsu champion. However, Godinez is eager to put her own grappling to the test and welcomes the challenge.
“The truth is that I’m not afraid to go to the ground with her because I’ve also worked a ton on my jiu-jitsu, and also on stopping a jiu-jitsu fighter from doing their things,” Godinez told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “That’s also very important – it’s not just about me doing jiu-jitsu. We’re focused on that a lot, and obviously our hands are always improving and that’s going to show. The truth is that I want to work my wrestling, but we’ll see how things go down.”
