PHILADELPHIA -- Despite the fact that injuries to multiple top fighters have made it so that Saturday's UFC 330 event will include the promotion's first women's title bout of 2026, the pair of strawweights competing in the co-main event have provided assurances that it will be a memorable one. Submission ace Mackenzie Dern (16-5) will make the first defense of her 115-pound title inside Xfinity Mobile Arena when she welcomes Gillian Robertson (17-8), who holds UFC female records for most career submissions and finishes. The 31-year-old Robertson looks to become the first female Canadian fighter to capture UFC gold (and just the third overall, joining Carlos Newton and Georges St-Pierre).
She also made sure at Wednesday's media day to let it be known that she plans on going through the 33-year-old Dern, a slight betting favorite, in order to do so. red event and UFC Fight Night is included with your subscription! Plans start as low as $8.99/month or $89.99/year! "This isn't jiu-jitsu, it's an MMA fight," Robertson told CBS Sports.
"I'm going to go in there and show her the damage I'm capable of delivering and make it a violent fight and just drown her. I'm down for a dog fight and I think that's the way I win it, honestly. I need to make it ugly for her and to get her in the clinch and throw elbows.
I just need to make her not want to be in there with me." The matchup features two fighters who have worked extremely hard in recent years to rebound from big defeats and evolve their skills and determination enough to author win streaks at the right time. Dern, the daughter of Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Wellington "Megaton" Dias, drew comparisons to Ronda Rousey before she even entered the UFC in 2018 thanks to her grappling success and marketability. But after a 6-1 start, she lost four of her next six bouts.
After focusing on improving her striking technique under head coach Jason Parillo, Dern dramatically turned things around and has won three straight, including a competitive decision win over Virna Jandiroba last October to claim the vacant strawweight title. Now, as champion, she reports the old MMA adage that champions become 30% better just by winning the title is true. "My first day back training after winning the title, I was like, 'Coach, this is so weird.
My punches better, my kicks are better,'" Dern told CBS Sports. "Everything was just better, as if I just got 30% better. I can't explain what it is but I definitely think the fans will see an even better Mackenzie than when I won the title." Robertson, who made her UFC debut in 2017 after competing in Season 26 of "The Ultimate Fighter," started off just 7-5 in the Octagon.
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