Mackenzie Dern is gearing up for her fight with Gillian Robertson. Amid this, many have become curious about her personal life, especially her ex-husband, Wesley Santos.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleMackenzie Dern is one of the most well-known faces in the UFC. She is known for not backing down from a challenge and never engaging in trash talk, something that is quite common in the sport. This is why Mackenzie was left confused when she heard her next opponent, Gillian Robertson, claim that she didn't like the former very much, just days ahead of their fight at UFC 330.
Mackenzie claimed that she found it funny that Gillian would say that, as she was the one trying to build tension between them. Meanwhile, many have become curious about her personal life, especially her ex-husband, Wesley Santos.
Mackenzie Dern was previously married to a professional surfer named Wesley Santos. The duo reportedly got engaged in 2019, the same year that they welcomed their daughter, Moa. At the time, Mackenzie Dern also took a break from fighting. Things between the UFC star and her then-husband seemed to be going great, at least from the outside, until they separated in 2022.
Mackenzie shared the news of her split with her fans by taking to social media. She stated that they were on good terms and were committed to raising their daughter well. However, later reports surfaced that Mackenzie and Wesley had a very turbulent relationship. While they had both tried to get things in order, both of them failed to sustain it.
After the divorce, Mackenzie and Wesley traded multiple allegations such as improper behavior towards one another. This eventually landed them in a serious court battle. Additionally, video footage of Wesley reportedly engaging in misconduct before legal authorities came to intervene also emerged.
In the court documents that were made public, it came to light that the surfer had misbehaved with Mackenzie’s two pet dogs. Some reports suggest that Wesley even denied Mackenzie access to finances from a bank in Brazil. Wesley was also accused of misusing the MMA fighter's credit card.
As more and more claims emerged against Wesley, he went on to allege that Mackenzie had mistreated their daughter, Moa. However, it is worth noting that Mackenzie denied all such allegations. When neither Mackenzie nor Wesley found support in their allegations, as per the documents, the court ruled on the custody of their child. They deemed Mackenzie the primary earner of the two and gave both of them joint custody of their daughter.
They also ordered the UFC star to pay for her ex-husband’s court fees, which reportedly amounted to USD 10,000. She was also asked to pay monthly alimony of around USD 4,000.
During the early stages of her divorce, Mackenzie had a fight against Yan Xiaonan at UFC Vegas 61. While she lost the match by majority decision, fans could see that her performance was affected by the mental stress of going through a divorce proceeding. However, in her next fight against Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73, Mackenzie bounced back and got the win. During an interview, she claimed that her divorce had motivated her to fight harder. She said:
"I feel like so many things are trying to bring me down, like changing managers, the divorce, the gym... I’m coming with a lot of aggression from my personal life and everything. Nothing personal against Angela; I have a lot of respect for her, but I need to get it done.”
Mackenzie also opened up about why she had stayed with Wesley Santos despite them having an abusive relationship. She explained:
“I stayed in my relationship because I believed in the family, and I believe that that’s what God wanted and stuff. But there’s a certain point where you try, try, and try, and things don’t change, and it just keeps getting worse and worse.”
What are your thoughts on Mackenzie Dern’s ex-husband, Wesley Santos, and their rocky relationship?
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