Mackenzie Dern vs. Amanda Cooper slated for UFC 224

MMAfighting.com

Mackenzie Dern wanted a quick turnaround into UFC 224 — and that’s exactly what she’s going to get.

Fresh off her successful Octagon debut, the 24-year-old jiu-jitsu phenom will return against strawweight veteran Amanda Cooper on May 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at UFC 224.

MMA Brasil first reported the booking on Wednesday.

Dern (6-0) scored a split decision win over Ashley Yoder in her much-anticipated UFC debut earlier this month at UFC 222. A decorated grappler who was once the No. 1-ranked female jiu-jitsu player in the world, Dern asked to compete at UFC 224 following her victory over Yoder, citing a desire to fight in front of her Brazilian fans.

Less than two years into her MMA career, Dern also holds notable submission wins over UFC flyweight Montana De La Rosa and one-time Invicta FC title challenger Kaline Medeiros.

Cooper (3-3), meanwhile, looks to capitalize on her newfound momentum after earning a second-round TKO victory over Angela Magana last December. A 26-year-old finalist of The Ultimate Fighter 23, “ABC” has thus far split her four Octagon appearances, sandwiching wins over Magana and Anna Elmose between submission losses to strawweight contenders Tatiana Suarez and Cynthia Calvillo.

“I’ve been training to beat [Dern] longer than you can imagine,” Cooper wrote Wednesday on Instagram. “I’m going to derail the hype train on May 12th.”

UFC 224 takes place at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes defends her title against Raquel Pennington in the night’s main event, which airs live on pay-per-view.

An updated UFC 224 fight card can be seen below.