Mackenzie Dern vs Amanda Ribas 2

The rematch and what it carried into the cage

This was a fight that felt overdue. Not because of hype or broken rivalries, but because the first meeting never really closed the loop. Fans wanted clarity; the fighters wanted to settle a score that had less to do with scoreboard math and more to do with proving an evolution. Mackenzie Dern walked in like someone who’d been polishing one instrument her whole life and now wanted to play a different song. Amanda Ribas looked like someone comfortable with improvisation ready to change tempo on a dime.

The atmosphere wasn’t loud in the way big headline fights can be; it was tense. You could feel the small, insistent expectation that something decisive, or at least revealing, would happen.

Styles and stakes

Dern: a jiu-jitsu artist who has spent a career making grappling look inevitable. Lately she’s worked on striking and pressure, trying to stop being a one narrative fighter. Tonight she wanted to be more than a submission threat: she wanted to impose a pace and control the geography of the fight.

Ribas: versatile, comfortable in transition. Judo and muay thai influences give her options in clinch and stand-up, and her cardio lets her punish mistakes over five rounds. Her game is about creating moments one accurate shot, one scramble won, one escape that add up. The real question wasn’t simply who was better at jiu-jitsu or striking; it was who had adapted more since they last met.

Round-by-round flow

Round 1 — probing and tempo setting

The opener read like two chess players moving pieces. Ribas used the jab and low kicks to sketch the outline she wanted. Dern answered with forward pressure, looking for the clinch, the trip, the moment to drag things to the mat. Midway through, Dern shot; Ribas sprawled clean. Not dramatic, but telling. Ribas got the slight edge for activity and distance control, while Dern left an impression of intent: patient, persistent, waiting for a crack.

Round 2 — the grappling surfaces

When Dern finally found space, she took it. A clinch against the cage, a change of level, and suddenly Ribas was on the mat. Dern’s transitions were fluent not flashy, just efficient and she flirted with an armbar that pulled the crowd into a quiet, collective intake of breath. Ribas defended with composure, worked to escape, and eventually scrambled back up; the round, though, belonged to Dern. The difference was positional: Dern didn’t need highlight-reel submissions to win the minutes. She scored quiet, accumulative control.

Round 3 — momentum shifts

Ribas came out sharper. Her combinations had a cleaner rhythm and a right hook briefly rocked Dern. Instead of panicking, Ribas kept composure and controlled distance; instead of chasing the knockout, she chose to manage. Dern absorbed, reset, and kept hunting takedowns. The round was close but favored Ribas on volume and effective striking.

Round 4 — grit and attrition

Fatigue started showing: shoulders lower, breaths longer, movements less crisp. Dern again found a takedown, worked for the back, and threatened a choke. Ribas defended with the kind of mental resistance that matters calm under pressure, timely escapes. This round felt like it belonged to the fighter who could sustain offense under tiredness, and Dern’s positional control likely nudged the judges in her favor.

Round 5 — last bids and finishing lines

The final frame was about statements. Ribas pushed the pace, landed body shots, and tried to turn volume into a decision. Dern, visibly taxed but relentless, continued to press and attempt late takedowns. A final sprawl, a last flurry the kind of ending that leaves scorecards open to interpretation. It ended in standing range, both fighters having left everything they had in the cage.

Decision, reaction, and tone after the bell

The judges handed Amanda Ribas a unanimous decision. It wasn’t the kind of verdict that shuts down debate; the match was layered, with rounds swinging on different currencies positional control vs. striking volume. Some fans saw the ground work and favored Dern; others counted strikes and activity and sided with Ribas.

Both fighters hugged in the center. There was no showboating, no bitterness just mutual acknowledgment. What mattered more than the card was the affirmation that both had grown: Dern in her ability to pressure and extend her toolkit, Ribas in tactical maturity and defensive composure.

Takeaways and what comes next

Dern’s strengths remain fundamental: elite grappling, positional savviness, and a growing willingness to mix in pressure-based striking. What she still needs is sharper, more decisive stand-up to turn close fights into clearer wins.

Ribas showed balance: the capacity to move, to punish space, and to defend under threat. Her adaptability across five rounds makes her a harder matchup for specialists.This fight was less a decisive statement and more a progress report. Both fighters left the octagon with useful data: what works, what still needs work, and where their trajectories might take them next.

Final note

Great fights don’t always end with a definitive moral. Sometimes they end with questions that matter more than answers: who learned more, who adapted faster, who will use this night as a turning point. Dern vs Ribas 2 wasn’t a clean narrative; it was a layered one technique, heart, and small tactical battles that stacked into a close, compelling fight. For anyone tracking the evolution of these two, tonight offered enough to be optimistic and honest about what the next chapters might bring.

FAQs

1 : What was the official result of Mackenzie Dern vs Amanda Ribas 2

Amanda Ribas won by unanimous decision after five rounds.

2 : How did Dern try to win the fight

Dern pursued takedowns and ground control, using jiu-jitsu transitions and submission attempts.

3 : How did Ribas counter Dern’s grappling

Ribas used distance management, solid sprawls, timely escapes, and increased striking volume.

4 : Which rounds were pivotal in the judges’ decision

Rounds two and four favored Dern’s ground work; rounds three and five favored Ribas’s striking and standing control.

5 : What should each fighter focus on next

Dern should sharpen striking and takedown setups; Ribas should refine takedown defense and mix in more offensive bursts.