The women in
UFC 295’s feature bout share an unfortunate similarity—one they
might be able to bond over once they settle their business in the
Octagon.
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Jessica
Andrade (24-12) and Mackenzie
Dern (13-3) are slated for a strawweight clash on Saturday at
Madison Square Garden. Both fighters have gone through turmoil in
their personal lives with recent divorces and opened up on the
subject at the UFC 295 media day on Wednesday. According to Dern, this fight is an opportunity for
both of them to channel those negative feelings into an
entertaining scrap for the fans. Andrade agreed, adding that the
fight will also help with the financial impact of the divorces.
“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Andrade said. “I know she’s going
through that. I’m going through it as well. It basically going to
be a session where we go out and let the demons out…First of all, I
actually have gone through what she’s gone through, for even longer
cause my divorce started earlier than hers. And it’s an opportunity
for us to go at it. You think initially that this is not gonna
bother you but later on it starts bothering you through the
fighting bits. But Saturday, no doubt, we’re gonna go at it. We’re
gonna take it out on each other. And also, that [divorce] also
takes a toll financially so we’re going for this as well. Because
it helps us out dealing with it financially.”
Nevertheless, once they are done fighting, Andrade is open to
talking about their experiences. “And when the fight’s over we can
exchange information about how the divorces are going,” she
added.
Meanwhile, during her media day appearance, Dern opened up in
detail about dealing with the aftermath of a divorce and the
custody battle for her daughter. She also shared that her entire
earnings from the upcoming UFC 295 clash will go to her ex-husband.
The 30-year-old said, “I realized we always have problems. Just the
pressure. The last one I went through the divorce. The divorce is
final, but you don’t realize how much aftermath there is to it.
Literally, this whole fight is still paying my ex. It’s crazy, I
have to get punched in the face and you work so hard and you do all
this and you have to like pay that much of something.”
“It’s kind of crazy the fans get to watch us let out all of our
stress and everything on another person in a fight but that’s what
we’re trained for. That’s what makes the victory more special.”