After watching Gillian Robertson come up short in her bid for the women's strawweight championship against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 330, Din Thomas caused a stir in the MMA world with a retirement announcement that included statements about Robertson that many found disrespectful. Thomas, a former UFC fighter-turned-coach, spoke during the UFC 330 post-show, where he announced his retirement from cornering fighters. "I do have an announcement for you guys," Thomas said.
"I told myself I would continue to do this until I took Gillian as far as she could go. I think that might be as far as she can go, and I am officially retiring from cornering fighters tonight. It's just I told myself that I would do this with her.
I would see her journey out and take her as far as I think she can go, and this might be as far as she can go." Din Thomas announced that he is retiring from cornering fighters📺 @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/zdkW27eVxk Robertson was dominated by Dern for the majority of the fight, though she finished with a strong fifth round, taking Dern down and spending much of the round in top position. Many objected to the timing of Thomas' announcement, as well as his sentiment that Robertson had hit her ceiling as a title challenger who came up short, believing the statement to be in poor taste in the immediate aftermath of a crushing loss for a fighter he had trained for many years. On Monday's episode of "Deep Waters" on the UFC on Paramount+ YouTube channel, Thomas apologized for the timing of his announcement.
"It's an emotional rollercoaster," Thomas said. "You're dealing with the same insecurities, with the same highs and lows. Everything leading up to it, you have to deal with all that stuff, and it's an emotional rollercoaster.
And I've been very vocal about this, that it's not my favorite thing to do. I've tried to quit time and time before. When Tyron Woodley got knocked out by Jake Paul, I was like, 'Yo, this is my last time doing this.
I'm not doing this no more.' But I took on Gillian, and I have to say, Saturday night was the most inappropriate time for me to bring up that I did not want to corner again. 'It was completely irresponsible, it was despicable. I shouldn't have done it. I should have waited until maybe even today.
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