Mackenzie Dern

Dern was born in Arizona, the daughter of Wellington "Megaton" Dias, a highly decorated grappling competitor himself. As a child, she grew up travelling back and forth between Arizona and her father's native Brazil. Dern is fluent in English and Portuguese. She has stated that Portuguese has become her primary tongue, explaining that "my Dad and step Mom are both Brazilian. My boyfriend speaks Portuguese. I'm speaking Portuguese more than English. I still have lots of interactions in English of course. But I think in Portuguese, anything to do with fight is all in Portuguese in my mind, I dream in Portuguese."
Dern began training by the age of three and practicing with her father and stepmother who is also a black belt, Luciana Tavares. Mackenzie started competing at a young age, and began competing in the adult divisions at 14 years old. She has won a world championship in every belt le…