Ahead of their UFC 330 title match on August 15th in Philadelphia, Gillian Robertson made one thing very clear: what Mackenzie Dern has accomplished in competition jiu-jitsu carries no weight inside the Octagon.
Speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Robertson was asked to respond to Dern’s comments about her jiu-jitsu credentials, including competing at ADCC and IBJJF.
Robertson did not flinch.
“I’ve competed in the UFC the last nine years and I’ve been training MMA, so I’m like that’s the sport that matters to me. Those accolades, yeah, they’re cool for jiu-jitsu. They don’t matter now.”
The context behind that statement is important. Dern had suggested that Robertson had been “kind of putting down all my accomplishments and everything in jiu-jitsu.”
Robertson pushed back on that characterization, framing her comments not as shade but as a simple recognition of where the sport lines are drawn.
“I don’t take anything away from her jiu-jitsu accomplishments, but that’s jiu-jitsu. And we’re competing in MMA now. And that’s where I’m going to be better.”
Robertson has the record to back up that confidence. She holds the most submissions in UFC women’s history and the most finishes overall among women in the promotion, all of them coming on the ground.
When asked who the greatest jiu-jitsu practitioner in women’s MMA is, she did not hesitate long.
“I think it’s hard not to say me.”
What separates Robertson’s grappling from traditional competition jiu-jitsu, she explained, is precisely how far removed it is from the sport format.
“I haven’t trained jiu-jitsu jiu-jitsu in at least five-plus years at this point. All my jiu-jitsu has been MMA based.”
She credits her coach Din Thomas for reshaping her game entirely around mixed martial arts.
“His brain has just innovated my game. We’re looking for opportunities to do damage, to set up submissions, to just work on everything.”
On Dern specifically, Robertson pointed to a recurring issue she has seen in her opponent’s MMA career: the inability to consistently get the match to the ground against higher-level competition.
“She doesn’t get in deep enough on her shots. She’s not well-versed enough in her striking to set up her shots and it’s kind of reckless.”
Robertson does acknowledge that Dern has genuine jiu-jitsu skill.
“She does have good jiu-jitsu, like jiu-jitsu jiu-jitsu. She does. I’m sure she trains with a lot of high-level girls that train jiu-jitsu, but they’re not elbowing her in the face like I will. “
As for the belt itself, Robertson said the performance matters to her more than the outcome.
“If I go out there and I don’t perform good but I win the belt, I won’t be completely content.”
