Athletes
Gillian Robertson | Years In The Making
After 20 Fights In The UFC, “The Savage” Is Ready To Capture Championship Gold.
Gillian Robertson has taken the long road to her first UFC title shot. But now she’s here, she plans on completing her journey with championship gold wrapped around her waist.
Robertson will challenge reigning champion Mackenzie Dern for the undisputed strawweight title in the co-main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia on Saturday night. Due to the pair’s respective fighting styles, it’s a matchup that people in and around the sport have been hoping would materialize for years. Now it has, and it’s for the biggest prize in the sport.
WATCH: UFC 330 Embedded
"I just feel like this matchup since she got into the UFC, people have been asking me about it,” said Robertson during her fight week sit-down with UFC.com. “So I think it's just something that was years in the making, and the fact that it is for the title is just… it's kind of destiny.”
That destiny has been a long time coming for Robertson, who had to scrap her way into the UFC via The Ultimate Fighter house, then battle her way up the flyweight division before switching weight classes and pushing herself into title contention as a 115-pounder.
Throughout her career in the UFC, Robertson has always had that “happy to be here” demeanor about her. But don’t let her smiley at-times shy personality confuse you. All that niceness evaporates when she steps into the Octagon, where she becomes laser-focused, flame-haired “Savage”.
Her performances in the Octagon over the years have been delivered with her trademark relentless style as she sizes up her opponents, gets them to engage, then drags them to the mat and drowns them, either via submission, or under a barrage of ground strikes. She has claimed 14 victories in the UFC, with 10 of them coming by finish – a UFC women’s record. Of those finishes, seven came via submission – also a UFC women’s record.
RELATED: Mackenzie Dern Has The A-Z Of BJJ At The Ready
Now Robertson plans on taking those talents and toppling reigning strawweight champion Dern, a former Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom who captured world titles in BJJ and submission grappling among a plethora of honors from her grappling days.
But Robertson brings her very own brand of grappling to the table, with her submission attack complemented by a nasty ground-and-pound arsenal. It means opponents have to pick their poison, with Robertson invariably getting the job done inside the distance.
“Well, I think that’s where I'm going to shine-is that I think she's so used to traditional Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling, where I am more of an MMA fighter,” Robertson explained. “I will look to do more damage and just put a pressure on her that she's not used to.”
Gillian Robertson | Submission Showcase
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Gillian Robertson | Submission Showcase
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The stylistic matchup is one that has longtime MMA fans fascinated, with Dern’s pure jiu-jitsu skills going up against Robertson’s more well-rounded ground game. But, while some may suggest Robertson has a greater range of weapons on the mat, the elite-level grappling Dern brings to the table means Robertson faces the trickiest, and most confident, mat technician of her career.
"I think honestly, this is going to be a style that I probably have never seen in general, because it's one of the first few people I feel like I'm going to be fighting that I don't think they're going to be necessarily scared of me,” she said. “Most people are scared to get close to me, so it takes them out of their striking game because they don't want to grapple with me. Whereas Mackenzie's going to be more than willing to come forward. She's going to be more than willing to get in those exchanges. So, I think it's a different matchup for both of us.”
COUNTDOWN: Robertson vs Dern
Victory for Robertson will see her become a UFC champion and complete a remarkable journey to the top of the sport for her and her coach, Din Thomas.
Well known to fans who watch UFC programming as a larger-than-life personality with an encyclopedic knowledge of the sport, Thomas previously helped coach former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley before departing American Top Team to run his own operation. He regularly commutes to The Goat Shed gym in Miami to work with Robertson and has been in her corner throughout her run to this weekend’s title opportunity.
"I feel like he is my biggest inspiration,” she said. “He drives two hours twice a week to come train with me. He does so many things, even just the work he does to get to where he's at now, to get onto the commentary desk, and I've seen him at the Palm Beach Improv, or at ESPN West Palm for years, grinding on that type of work, just so he can get to where he's at. So it's the same thing that I'm doing, just working hard and making sure you're hitting all your P's and Q's until you are able to do it at the highest level.”
Now she’s reached the highest level, Robertson plans on finishing the job by dethroning Dern and assuming her place at the top of the strawweight division. Many fans are expecting a grapple-heavy matchup, but Robertson was keen to stress that this is an MMA fight, not a jiu-jitsu match, and she thinks her most likely method of victory will be via her ground strikes, rather than her submission arsenal.
Gillian Robertson: 'In The Third Or Fourth Round I Will Find My TKO' | UFC 330
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Gillian Robertson: 'In The Third Or Fourth Round I Will Find My TKO' | UFC 330
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"I think it's going to go everywhere,” she predicted. “I think people expect it to be a grappling match, where I think we're going to have a lot on the feet, a lot on the wrestling, a lot on the ground, and I do think that in the maybe third, fourth round, I'm going to be able to find my TKO.
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“Usually, when I'm going with more jiu-jitsu girls, I'm able to find my strikes on the ground. I'm not saying on the feet, definitely, but on the ground, I feel like I can find my finish.”
UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry took place live from Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 15, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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