Dern, Lopes Lead UFC's Fight Week Charity Push Across Los Angeles

The UFC turned its UFC 331 fight week in Los Angeles into a community blitz, dropping $20,000 in donations and sending reigning strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern and featherweight contender Diego Lopes onto the mats with local kids. The events ran across three gyms in the days before the September 19 card at Crypto.com Arena, partnering with Guardian Los Angeles Jiu-Jitsu, Wild Card Boxing Gym and Boyle Heights Jiu-Jitsu.

Dern kicked things off on September 15 at Guardian Los Angeles, a South Central nonprofit that offers free jiu-jitsu to underserved youth. The 17-5 champion, whose eight career submissions speak to exactly the grappling pedigree on display, ran a seminar for more than 35 students, walking them through escapes, sweeps and guard passes. Dern said jiu-jitsu changed her life and that keeping the sport growing in the right environment matters to her.

The Donations

Guardian operates in partnership with the LAPD and bundles its free training with mental health referrals, education and meals. The UFC handed the organization $10,000 and sent every student home with Project Rock sneakers and a T-shirt courtesy of UFC BJJ. A matching $10,000 went to Boyle Heights Jiu-Jitsu later in the week, bringing the total to $20,000.

The Coaches

On September 16, Zuffa Boxing's Cain Sandoval and Umar Dzambekov took over the youth class at Wild Card Boxing Gym, the Freddie Roach-founded fixture that opened in 1995 and has produced multiple world champions. The pair focused on the numbered punching system. Dzambekov said pairing up with Sandoval at a gym with that kind of history gives the kids a solid foundation.

Lopes closed out the week on September 17, surprising students at East L.A. Jiu-Jitsu's sister gym for a seminar and Q&A on his training style. The #2 featherweight, 28-8 with a perfectly split 12 KOs and 12 submissions, trained with each kid individually alongside gym owner Ron Mukai. Lopes said the Boyle Heights setup reminded him of his youth academy back in Puebla, Mexico, and leaned on a message about always having more to learn on the mats.

It's a timely stretch for both headliners. Dern is coming off a decision win over Gillian Robertson, while Lopes last stopped Steve Garcia inside two rounds and is booked next against Charles Oliveira at UFC 335. The seminars ran under the UFC's #UFCInTheCommunity banner, the promotion's corporate responsibility arm.