Mackenzie Dern Eyes 2019 Return Despite Pregnancy

Mackenzie Dern may be two months shy of giving birth to her first child, but that’s no reason to sit out all of 2019 according to the undefeated strawweight.

Mackenzie Dern recently announced her pregnancy to the world, and now she is re-announcing that even though she is with child, that has no bearing on whether or not she will compete this year (Translation via Bloody Elbow):

“I’m sure I’ll still fight this year, I just don’t know the month. I want October so I can get ready as soon as possible. I wanted to fight in the ADCC, but I feel bad asking them now, with the baby still in my belly and all. The tournament will be here in California, in September. We have to see if I’ll have a normal birth or a cesarean one, but my doctors told me I could fight. I almost didn’t gain any weight, my doctor even wants me to put on more weight. This baby got me more motivated than ever.”

Some may scoff at Mackenzie Dern’s lofty goals of returning to active competition so soon after giving birth, and Dern has a response to all those naysayers:

“When people say you can’t, that’s when you want to prove the opposite. They say the kid will take part of my time, but it only motivates me more. You don’t retire just because you’re a mom. It’s about your will. I think I got that from my dad, I grew up watching him fight. I never saw someone quit fighting because they became a parent. Kyra Gracie stopped, but that was her choice. I never thought I would have a kid and then retire. I always pictured in my mind that my kids would watch me fight.”