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MMA phenom draws Rousey comparisons with brutal victory

Rising MMA star Mackenzie Dern is being compared to Ronda Rousey after continuing her unbeaten streak with a brutal win in just 55 seconds.

The 24-year-old completely dismantled Mandy Polk in her flyweight debut at LFA 24 on Saturday.

Dern hit Polk with a flurry of massive punches in the first round before getting her on the ground and locking in a rear naked choke.

Tap out! Image: LFA
Tap out! Image: LFA

Polk, 32, didn't last long in the submission, tapping out to give Dern her fourth win in as many fights.

But despite the stunning display, MMA journalist Jonathan Snowden was far from impressed, suggesting Dern could easily end up like fallen UFC star Rousey.


Snowden said Dern's results are impressive, but the process is terrible, predicting she'd suffer a similar fate to Rousey, who burst onto the scene in dominant fashion but was found out when she eventually fought better opponents.



However fellow MMA journalist Ariel Helwani hit back at Dern’s critics.

“Striking experts on Twitter criticising Dern, seems like many didn’t watch her first couple fights,” he posted on Twitter.

“There’s an improvement. 4 fights total. And if I’m her I’d stay at 125 (that) division is much more shallow than 115.”



Former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson has previously said Dern would be greater than Rousey at the peak of her career.

“She will be bigger than Ronda Rousey before Ronda Rousey lost. She’s going to be huge”, Henderson said last year.