UFC strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern reflected on her appearance at the 83rd Golden Globes awards ceremony, describing the experience as an exciting glimpse into the future of fighter visibility under the promotion’s new partnership with Paramount.
Dern appeared alongside featherweight contender Brian Ortega at the January 11, 2026 event in Beverly Hills, California, where the two fighters made a brief on-stage cameo dressed as security guards. The segment, which lasted roughly 30 seconds, was designed to promote the UFC’s historic seven-year, $7.7 billion media rights deal with Paramount that took effect earlier this month.
UFC Champion Mackenzie Dern Celebrates Golden Globes Appearance as Strawweight Division Heats Up
“We were happy to be there,” Dern told The Schmo in a red carpet interview at UFC 324. “It was a great start to the UFC–Paramount Plus connection, so it was really good that finally the athletes are there with the other celebrities and everything like that. We were able to get dressed up and we were part of all the red carpet and everything, so it’s fun and I’m excited for the next Golden Globes. I think it’ll be fun.”
The appearance marked a significant cultural moment for the UFC, particularly given actress Meryl Streep’s 2017 Golden Globes comments suggesting that without diverse voices in entertainment, audiences would be left with “football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts”. Nearly a decade later, UFC fighters walked the red carpet at the same event, with Dern wearing a strapless purple dress and Ortega in a black suit and bow tie.
While the segment drew mixed reactions on social media, with some viewers calling it awkward or forced, the moment represented a broader shift in how mixed martial arts athletes are being positioned in mainstream entertainment spaces. Under the Paramount deal, which began streaming UFC events on January 24, 2026, all 13 numbered UFC events and 30 Fight Nights will be available on Paramount Plus without the traditional pay-per-view model, with select events simulcast on CBS.
For Dern personally, the timing of the appearance could not have been better. The 32-year-old captured the vacant UFC strawweight title just two and a half months earlier on October 25, 2025, defeating Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. The victory, which came exactly 10 years after Dern won her first world title at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, made her the first woman to win an IBJJF World Championship, an ADCC gold medal, and a UFC title.
“It’s crazy, it’s crazy. My life’s changed completely,” Dern told The Schmo when asked about holding the belt. “I’ve just been super focused. I’m having more motivation than ever, I don’t want to lose the belt soon. I definitely want to show everyone, like, ‘Hey, I’m meant to be a champion and I’m going to be a longtime champion.’ So I’m definitely really, really motivated. But yeah, life’s been crazy.”
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – OCTOBER 25: Mackenzie Dern reacts after a victory against Virna Jandiroba of Brazil in the UFC strawweight championship fight during the UFC 321 event at Etihad Arena on October 25, 2025 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)