Undefeated UFC women’s strawweight prospect Mackenzie Dern will be out of action for the foreseeable future. On Friday, February 23, the jiu-jitsu standout announced that she is pregnant. She announced her pending motherhood with a photo on social media.
The father of Dern’s child is Wesley Santos, a professional surfer and World Surf League champion.
“God makes everything so perfect!” Dern wrote on Instagram. “I am so happy to be able to share this news! I’m going to be a Mom! I love so much our family and now I have one more HUGE motivation for inside and outside the ring!! Thank you God for this blessing @santoswesley. I also want to thank all my fans and sponsors for the support during all the life phases and I can’t wait to be back in the ring!”
Dern, who holds a professional record of 7-0, currently sits as the No. 15-ranked fighter in her division.
In her most recent outing, Dern faced off against Amanda Bobby Cooper at UFC 224 on May 12, 2018. Dern scored a first-round rear-naked choke victory. Unfortunately, the win was overshadowed by the fact that she once again failed to hit her mark on the scales, this time weighing 8 pounds over the 115-pound weight limit.
You can check out more photos of the UFC strawweight below, including her pregnancy announcement.