UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern was in the midst of a very different kind of fight when she delivered a massive victory at the UFC Apex last week. Dern is currently embroiled in a bitter court battle against her estranged husband, Wesley Santos. The jiu-jitsu ace discussed the allegations in that court battle on a recent episode of The MMA Hour.
“So I feel like I’ve been having to defend myself this whole time for things that I never thought I’d have to defend myself for.
UFC’s Mackenzie Dern Reveals Abuse Allegations Against Estranged Husband
I was in a situation in my relationship where I couldn’t even defend myself, because I was getting, like, threatened that if I did anything, I’d be talking to the police and I could lose my daughter.
So, 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. And then, like I was saying, I wasn’t even able to defend myself.
Like, police were getting called to the house. It was just getting out of control, and going through that in front of your daughter, you don’t want your daughter to witness that.” Santos also released a statement denying the allegations.
“I am disappointed that Mackenzie chose to make public statements about our divorce, especially since it involves the custody of our beautiful daughter, Moa.
Because we are in the middle of legal proceedings, I cannot comment on anything at this time, except to say that Mackenzie’s statements are false and defamatory.”
Court documents pertaining to the couple’s divorce proceedings include Dern accusing Santos of repeated verbal and physical abuse. This included Santos slamming a door on Dern’s leg, dragging her into the house during a fight, and one alleged incident in which he “threw [her] phone, water bottles, pillows and bedding while harassing/intimidating [Dern] verbally.”
Other abuse allegations include striking the pair’s dogs, and financial abuse committed when Santos denied Dern access to money she had earned in a Brazilian bank account.
Santos has, in turn, accused Dern of beating their daughter, and of beating him. Dern has filed a restraining order against Santos, and the couple will return to court to determine the outcome of the restaining order an a final custody agreement.
Dern also claimed that her anger as a result of the entire affair fuelled her in the Octagon when she took on Angela Hill. “I was very grateful that my work gives me that opportunity, and this aggression that it was just for this fight.”
