Mackenzie jumping in UFC with both feet

MACKENZIE Dern has been tipped to be bigger than Ronda Rousey and the jiu-jitsu phenomenon is finally ready to make her leap into the UFC.

According to US reports, Dern will face Ashley Yoder at UFC 222 in Las Vegas on March 4. The match-up follows just one fight in Invicta FC, which took her MMA record to 5-0.

Dern has an exceptional ground game, boasting a raft of accomplishments in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Yoder (5-3) is winless from two UFC fights, having joined the promotion in 2016 out of The Ultimate Fighter.

UFC 222 may prove a great card to fight on, having been touted as a potential landing spot for Conor McGregor’s comeback to the UFC.

The “bigger than Rousey” rap for Dern came during 2016 from team-mate and former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

“She will be bigger than Ronda Rousey before Ronda Rousey lost,” Henderson said on The MMA Hour.

“She’s going to be huge. She’s going to be big. She has an excellent work ethic.

“Go look her up - she is a multiple-time jiu-jitsu world champion. She’s won ADCC. She’s won Abu Dhabi. She’s won Worlds. She’s the current No.1-ranked female jiu-jitsu practitioner on the planet. She has an amazing work ethic. She’s an amazing athlete.

“She definitely needs to work on her MMA skills, but her ground game is phenomenal. Any woman on the planet goes to the ground with Mackenzie and she’s going to tap her, or dominate her like she did her first opponent.”