For long periods of Mackenzie Dern’s see‑saw UFC career, she lacked a key characteristic that defines many champions. After debuting in 2018, the 33‑year‑old American‑Brazilian won six of her first seven fights, positioning her for a title shot alongside stars like Joanna Jedrzejczyk, Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili. Yet four defeats in her next six fights put her coronation on hold, a slump she attributes to a lack holiness of composure.

In 2024, a change in Dern’s social life coincided with her growth as a fighter. She began playing no‑limit Texas hold’em poker, a game that blends gambling, mathematics and psychology. Since then she has won three straight fights, including a victory over Virna Jandiroba, and feels the mental discipline gained at the table translates into the octagon.

Dern says poker taught her to control emotions, read people and maintain patience—skills she now applies against Canada’s Gillian Robertson in the co‑main event at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. She believes the mindset shift helped her become a true champion.

While poker carries gambling risks, Dern’s experience parallels Brazil’s Caio Borralho, who credits strategy games like chess for his rise in the middleweight rankings.