Gillian Robertson hits back at ‘absurd’ Mackenzie Dern ahead of UFC 330: ‘It’s MMA, you’ve got issues’

Mackenzie Dern’s first bout as UFC strawweight champion comes on Aug. 15 at UFC 330 against submission specialist Gillian Robertson.

Robertson, 31, has been a picture of confidence as she has risen through the ranks in the UFC over the past nine years and set a new benchmark for the most finishes by a woman in the promotion’s history with 12. Her seven submissions also stand alone as a UFC women’s record, earning her a jiu-jitsu black belt.

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On Monday’s “Ariel Helwani Show,” Dern took Robertson’s comments over the years as “shades” of undermining the champion’s abilities. Robertson responded on Tuesday’s show, clarifying that his confidence should not be confused with disrespect.

“I don’t think I’ve been throwing shade,” Robertson told Uncrown. “I’ve always said that this is a good match – to be the most respected girl in jiu-jitsu, I’m a girl. [top] posting a UFC artist. I have many introductions, very complete for women.

“I’m not taking anything away from what he’s accomplished in jiu-jitsu. That’s jiu-jitsu, and we’re fighting MMA now. That’s where I’m going to be better. Obviously, I wouldn’t have taken this fight if I didn’t think. [I was better]. I have a temper. She has good jiu-jitsu, I’m sure she trains with a lot of top girls who train jiu-jitsu, but she doesn’t elbow her in the face like I will.”

When comparing the two on Monday, Dern was quick to highlight how much more experienced she is in pure jiu-jitsu competitions than Robertson. He did not know if Robertson had ever officially competed in the match – Robertson had not.

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The competitor’s response? He has been competing in the UFC for almost a decade, fully focusing on training in MMA. For Robertson, pure jiu-jitsu experience is irrelevant and irrelevant in the cage. “Savage” believes that has been proven in both of their careers so far.

“When it starts to get to a higher level, and it’s MMA, he’s had problems – not being able to fight where he needs to, not being able to take it down. [Dern’s UFC losses against] Amanda Lemos, and Yan Xiaonan. These girls were able to pull away because of that,” said Robertson.

“It’s a problem in MMA in general, where a lot of people train in striking, grappling, or jiu-jitsu, which he obviously does, which separates the games a lot. You can tell he’s not getting deep enough in his shots. He’s not good enough in his striking to set up his shot, and it’s just like being careless.

“I don’t know where [the fight will] save. I’m just trying to prove that I’m a better MMA fighter, in general. I don’t care if it’s on the ground or on the feet or in the clinic. Wherever we are, I want to prove that I am a better fighter. “

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Riding a five-fight win streak leading into his first UFC title shot, Robertson (17-8) finds himself on the best of his 25-fight streak. He established himself as a major player at 115 kilograms after starting as a flyweight in 2017. Despite that, it was former UFC champion Zhang Weili who the MMA world expected to challenge Dern first.

Ultimately, Zhang’s pursuit of a flyweight title against reigning champion Valentina Shevchenko in 2025 opened up a vacant strawweight title opportunity for Dern. Zhang narrowly defeated Shevchenko, losing a unanimous decision and possibly relegating him to a division he has dominated twice before. Instead, the shot went to Robertson.

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“I was hoping it would get better, I guess,” Robertson admitted. “I knew Weili was in talks if he could come back. I think he deserved a spot in front of me. Obviously, things didn’t work out that way. I don’t know if it was something on his side, the UFC side, or whatever. But after my last performance, I was waiting for the call, and I was hoping he would get it as long as Weili wasn’t back in the picture.

“I’ve been waiting for you. When it happened, I was really emotional, but it feels like it’s about time.”