Gillian Robertson is not interested in a technical fight Saturday night. She wants a war.
Robertson faces strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern in the co-main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia, and according to CBS Sports, she made her intentions clear at Wednesday's media day. "This isn't jiu-jitsu, it's an MMA fight," Robertson said. "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 fight marks the first women's title bout in the UFC in 2026, a result of injuries to multiple top fighters that reshaped the card leading into the event.
Dern, 33, holds a record of 16-5 and will be making the first defense of her 115-pound title. She won the vacant strawweight belt last October with a competitive decision over Virna Jandiroba. The daughter of Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Wellington "Megaton" Dias, Dern drew comparisons to Ronda Rousey before she even entered the UFC in 2018. After a 6-1 start to her career, she lost four of her next six bouts. She then committed to improving her striking under head coach Jason Parillo and has won three straight since.
Winning the title, Dern said, changed something in how she feels in training. "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, 31, carries a record of 17-8 into Saturday's fight. She holds UFC records for most career submissions and finishes among female fighters. She made her UFC debut in 2017 after appearing on Season 26 of The Ultimate Fighter and started her UFC career at just 7-5. She has since turned things around under trainer and former UFC fighter Din Thomas, winning seven of her last eight fights since 2022.
A win Saturday would make Robertson the first female Canadian fighter to capture UFC gold. She would be just the third Canadian overall to win a UFC title, joining Carlos Newton and Georges St-Pierre.
Dern enters the fight as a slight betting favorite. The event takes place inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
