UFC women's strawweight contender Mackenzie Dern made headlines when she brought her emotional support dog to the UFC Vegas 101 press conference in January.Dern opened the UFC's calendar year in the main event against Amanda Ribas, which pitted the No.6 and No.8 ranked contenders against one another once again. The pair previously fought back in 2019, which saw Ribas win the fight via unanimous decision.Ahead of their bout, Dern arrived at the press conference with her dog.Why did Mackenzie Dern have an emotional support dog with her at the UFC Vegas 101 press conference?Mackenzie Dern was then asked during the press conference why she brought her dog, where she revealed he helps her remain calm and comfortable, which is needed ahead of such an important fight. Dern said:"He's [the dog] like security and emotional support. He helps me just being comfortable and trying to stay as calm as I can. I think what I'm most needing in my fights is composure and to go into the Apex one more time and feel like it's a training session. He goes to the gym with me so it's kind of the best way to keep my relaxed and not getting my nerves up too high."Mackenzie Dern was then asked if the dog would be at the Apex on Saturday night, to which he jokingly responded:"Haha! Maybe. Maybe."Check out Dern's comments here:Mackenzie Dern went on to dominate Amanda Ribas at UFC Vegas 101It turns out that the emotional support dog helped Mackenzie Dern maintain her focus and composure for the rematch against Amanda Ribas. Dern utilized her grappling and improved striking to put relentless pressure.While Ribas held her own in the stand-up exchanges, she could not resist Dern's grappling and ultimately succumbed to an armbar in the second round, which forcd her to tap. With the win, Dern became the 12th female fighter to earn 10 or more wins in the UFC.