Mackenzie Dern was ordered to pay $4,000 in child support to husband Wesley Santos following their divorce

UFC strawweight Mackenzie Dern was embroiled in a legal battle against her husband Wesley Santos ahead of her fight against Angela Hill at UFC Vegas 73.

Santos and Dern have been in a turbulent relationship for some time and are finding it difficult to maintain their relationship despite repeated attempts and the persistence of both parties.

The UFC strawweight exchanged allegations of physical abuse with Santos, revealing an incident that reached court because there was video footage that showed Santos tearing up his house before police intervened.

According to court documents obtained by MMA Fighting, the allegations involve Santos abusing Derns' two dogs and denying her access to funds in a Brazilian bank account, while also misusing her credit card and a lease extension on a previously shared apartment.

Santos also accused his wife of physically abusing their three-year-old daughter Moa, a claim she denied.

Neither Mackenzie Dern nor Wesley Santos found support in court for their respective abuse allegations, but a decision was made regarding their custody battle. Joint custody of Moa was given to both parents, with Dern considered the primary breadwinner of the two. Therefore, the court ordered her to pay her estranged husband's legal costs of $10,000 and an additional monthly spousal and child allowance of $4,006.

Divorce from Mackenzie Dern: Husband Wesley Santos denies public allegations

Mackenzie Dern opened up about her recent issues with her husband and revealed several other details in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour last week. Dern got pretty emotional in the interview as she expressed her helplessness in the relationship.

Check out an excerpt from Mackenzie Dern's interview on The MMA Hour:

Wesley Santos released a written statement denying the allegations and expressing disappointment with his estranged wife's decision to speak openly about their broken relationship. He wrote:

“I am disappointed that Mackenzie has chosen to make public statements regarding our divorce, especially as it involves custody of our beautiful daughter Moa. Since we are in the midst of a legal proceeding, I cannot comment at this time other than to say that Mackenzie’s statements are false and defamatory.” [h/t MMA Fighting]

The couple continues their legal divorce battle and Santos has stated that he will not address the matter until the case is concluded.

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