“Oh man, I had a little bit of trauma, a little anxiety, a little superstition, too,” Dern said. “I was kind of hoping my next main event would be with a crowd, but this is an opportunity I’m not going to say no to, to break that pattern that I have here at the APEX with my main events. It’s one week later, so the weight’s good, it’s the same fighter. Everything’s the same, just one week later, so let’s do it. I’m excited to go in there and get this win. I need this win.”
Dern’s superstitions didn’t help her difficult training camp, where numerous distractions at home disrupted her preparation for her fight with Hill. Outside of the pressures and physical demands that a training camp requires, Dern endured a divorce and a change in management.
“I was a little bit nervous,” Dern said describing her initial reaction to fighting in Saturday’s main event. “I’m 0-2 here at the APEX in my main events and I’ve had so much going on in this camp. This hasn’t been an easy camp, it’s been crazy; divorce, coaches have been out of town, I changed managers, so just everything has been so crazy, and I was hoping to get back in the win column in Charlotte [in front of] the crowd. It’s three rounds, get the win and get my life organized. And then they offered [the main event].”
One of Dern’s biggest incentives to compete at the UFC APEX this weekend was knowing her daughter Moa, 3, could be in attendance.
