The curious case of Mackenzie Dern and her Brazilian accent
Whilst most MMA fans will recognize Mackenzie Dern’s accent as common place, older fans that know Dern from her BJJ days will remember a different accent. In short, it went from sounding like a typical American, English accent which then shifted towards a thicker, Portugese accent over the years. After the shift in accent, you could hear a bigger pronunciation of the word ‘H’ instead of ‘R’, as well as a more Hispanic pronunciation in general.
This has prompted various people to ask what happened, and why? Here we shall look at Mackenzie Dern’s change in accent and why it happened.
In defense of Mackenzie Dern’s accent
Mackenzie Dern is the daughter of Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend who relocated to live in the USA after being born in Brazil. In fact, Mackenzie’s real surname is Santos which may make you see her in a different light. If you listen to Meagton, it’s pretty clear that he’s Brazilian and speaks in a heavy Brazilian accent. As a younger woman, this didn’t seem to impact Mackenzie Dern’s speech though.
However, there is an easier explanation to her accent which makes sense if you think about it properly. In one interview, Dern said “My Dad and step Mom are both Brazilian. My boyfriend speaks Portuguese. I’m speaking Portuguese more than English. I still have lots of interactions in English of course. But I think in Portuguese, anything to do with fight is all in Portuguese in my mind, I dream in Portuguese.”
As you can see, it’s pretty clear why her accent has turned to Portugese. Perhaps in her earlier life, she spoke a lot more English which would make sense if she went to a regular school in the USA. This would also add up as she burst onto the BJJ scene as a teenager when her English speaking would have been more commonplace.
Against Mackenzie Dern’s Brazilian accent
You may be mistaken that Mackenzie Dern is just a regular woman from the USA. In fairness, she was born in Arizona and trains in the RCVA gym in California. With this in mind, it is a bit odd how her accent shifted.
Imagine being surrounded by people talking in English with an American accent. It’s a fact that during her younger years, Mackenzie Dern sounded like a typical American citizen. With this said, it’s unsurprising that people have responded to her accent change with cynicism.
Conclusion
Overall, it looks like Mackenzie Dern’s accent genuinely changed as she surrounded herself with Portuguese speaking people later on in her life. Earlier, this wasn’t the case which is why her accent sounded American.
In fairness, your accent can change if you’re around a new crowd of people. The issue is whether this was genuine or not. Ultimately though, it doesn’t really matter. If she did put it on then it is quite odd but this is her decision. If her accent change was genuine then again, it doesn’t really change much in the big scheme of things.
