''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 194'', ''UFC Vegas 39'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 52'') was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event produced by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

that took place on October 9, 2021 at the

UFC Apex UFC Apex (stylised as UFC APEX) is a live events and production center in Enterprise, Nevada, operated and owned by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The facility was chosen in part due to its close proximity to the UFC Performance Instit ...

facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the

Las Vegas Metropolitan Area The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...

, United States.

Background

A women's strawweight bout between

Marina Rodriguez Marina Alcalde Rodriguez (born April 29, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Strawweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 8, 2022, she is #5 in the UFC women's stra ...

and

Mackenzie Dern Mackenzie Lynne Dern Santos (born March 24, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is a former world No. 1 ranked IBJJF competitor, currently ranked 6th among the female divisions. She is ...

headlined the event. A middleweight bout between

Phil Hawes Phillip Nicholas Fitzgerald Hawes (born January 8, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Hawes started out as a standout wrestler, winning a national ...

and

Deron Winn Deron Andrew Winn (born June 13, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. A professional mixed martial artist since 2017, he formerly competed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA, fighting in th ...

was expected to take place at the event. The pairing was initially scheduled to meet on July 17 at UFC on ESPN: Makhachev vs. Moisés, but Winn pulled out of that event citing a chest injury. In turn, Winn withdrew the day before the event due to health issues. He was briefly replaced by

Chris Curtis Chris Curtis (born Christopher Crummey; 26 August 1941 – 28 February 2005) was an English drummer and singer who was best known for being with the 1960s Beat music, beat band The Searchers (band), The Searchers. He originated the concept be ...

, but Hawes declined the bout and it was ultimately scrapped.

Michael Trizano Michael Charles Trizano (born December 31, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2016, Trizano was the winner o ...

and

Chas Skelly Chas Lucas Skelly (born May 11, 1985) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2009, he has also competed for Bellator MMA and Legacy Fig ...

were scheduled to meet in a featherweight bout at the event. However, Skelly was removed from the bout two weeks before the event due to undisclosed reasons. As a result, the bout was canceled. A middleweight bout between

Jamie Pickett Jamie Russell Pickett (born August 29, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Pickett lived with his grandparents growing up in Chinquapin, North Caro ...

and

Laureano Staropoli Laureano Rafael Staropoli (born February 27, 1993) is an Argentine mixed martial artist (MMA) who currently competes in the Welterweight division. He has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Staropoli beg ...

was originally scheduled for this event. However, the bout was moved to UFC Fight Night: Costa vs. Vettori after one of Pickett's coaches tested positive for COVID-19.

Sam Hughes Sir Samuel Hughes, (January 8, 1853 – August 23, 1921) was the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence during World War I. He was notable for being the last Liberal-Conservative cabinet minister, until he was dismissed from his cabinet post ...

was expected to face

Lupita Godinez Lupita "Loopy" Godínez (born September 6, 1993) is a Mexican-Canadian female mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of November 14, 2023, she is #11 in the UFC women's strawweight ...

in a women's strawweight bout at this event. However, Hughes was pulled from the bout after testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

and was replaced by promotional newcomer

Silvana Gómez Juárez Silvana Gómez Juárez (born December 6, 1984) is an Argentinian mixed martial artist who competes in the Strawweight division. She has previously competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Gómez Juárez started training kung f ...

. At the weigh-ins,

Jared Gooden Jared Alexander Gooden (born December 5, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2015, Gooden most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Bac ...

weighed in at 174 pounds, three pounds over the welterweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he forfeited 20% of his purse to his opponent Randy Brown.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters received $50,000 bonuses. * Fight of the Night: Marina Rodriguez vs. Mackenzie Dern * Performance of the Night: Lupita Godinez and Mariya Agapova

References

{{2021 in mixed martial arts UFC Fight Night 2021 in mixed martial arts October 2021 sports events in the United States 2021 in sports in Nevada Events in Enterprise, Nevada Ultimate Fighting Championship events in Las Vegas

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References