Mackenzie Dern successfully makes weight ahead of flyweight debut at LFA 24

Mackenzie Dern makes her flyweight debut against Mandy Polk on Friday at LFA 24.

LFA, Facebook

What weigh-in drama?

Mackenzie Dern’s first venture into the 125-pound waters kicked off without a hitch on Thursday, as Dern successfully weighed-in at 124.8 pounds for her flyweight debut against Mandy Polk at LFA 24. Polk tipped the scales at a trim 123.8 pounds.

Regarded a one of the top female prospects in the sport, Dern (3-0) is a decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion whose struggles on the scale have been her only blemish thus far in her promising MMA career. The 24-year-old Dern has failed to make the strawweight limit in each of her past two regional fights, the latter of which was shifted into a 120-pound catchweight bout prior to weigh-ins.

There were no such issues on Thursday, though.

Now, with the introduction of the women’s flyweight division to the UFC, the option exists for Dern to continue on with her MMA career at 125 pounds, if she so chooses.

“I feel like the girls we have (at The MMA Lab), like Lauren Murphy, she was just in ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ house, and she’s way bigger than me, and she fought 135 and now went down to 125, so I feel like the 125 girls are way bigger than me,” Dern said recently on The MMA Hour.

“But 115 is so hard for me to make. So I’m excited to see 125 and to see how I do there, and see how I feel there. But it’s definitely not 100 percent that that’s the weight class I will want to stay at. I feel like if I can figure out how to continue at 115, that would be better size-wise, but who knows?”

LFA 24 takes place Oct. 13 at the Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. The event’s main card airs live on AXS TV.

Complete LFA 24 weigh-in results can be seen below, as can a video replay of the event’s ceremonial weigh-ins.