Mackenzie Dern vs Gillian Robertson Predictions & Picks
Mackenzie Dern is tipped to retain the women’s strawweight title at UFC 330.
Dern’s grappling is a major advantage for her here – she can smother Gillian Robertson to either grind out a decision or maybe score a late stoppage by submission.
- Mackenzie Dern is on a 3-fight win streak
- All 16 of Mackenzie Dern’s wins have come via decision or submission
- 6 of Gillian Robertson’s 8 career losses have been by decision
- Gillian Robertson has been submitted 1 time in her career
Mackenzie Dern Form
Mackenzie Dern is the defending women’s strawweight champion with a professional record of 16-5 (8 Subs).
Dern made her MMA debut in July 2016 and compiled a 5-0 record before finally landing in the UFC in March 2018.
She marked her debut with a decision win over Ashley Yoder, and backed it up with a first-round submission of Amanda Cooper before suffering her first ever loss – a decision defeat to Amanda Ribas.
The 33-year-old American rebounded quickly, submitting Hannah Cifers and then Randa Markos in the first round, before out-pointing Virna Jandiroba over three rounds.
Dern made it four-in-a-row by tapping out Nina Nunes in the first round, but her career stalled after that as she lost four of her next six fights.
She bounced back from a points loss to Marina Rodriguez with a decision victory Tecia Torres, and then answered a majority decision defeat to Yan Xiaonan with a points win over Angela Hill.
Dern again failed to follow up a win as she was knocked out by Jessica Andrade and beaten on points by Amanda Lemos, but she has got her career back on track since then.
A decision win over Loopy Godinez and a submission success against Amanda Ribas earned the American a shot at the vacant strawweight title, and she took her big chance by out-pointing Jandiroba in their rematch in October of last year.
Gillian Robertson Form
Gillian Robertson is the number five ranked contender in the strawweight division, with a career record of 17-8 (3 KOs, 9 Subs).
Robertson entered the UFC in 2017 and enjoy a strong start as she won six of her first eight fights for the promotion.
Her quest for a title shot suffered a setback between December 2020 and March 2022 though, as she lost three times in four fights.
The 31-year-old Canadian dropped decisions to Talia Santos and Miranda Maverick, before failing to build on a first-round submission of Priscila Cachoeira as she lost on points to JJ Aldrich.
Robertson rallied with submission successes against Mariya Agapova and Piera Rodriguez, only to then suffer a unanimous decision defeat to Tabatha Ricci when they met in June 2023.
‘The Savage’ has not lost since though, forcing her way to this title shot by winning five consecutive fights.
She started the run with a second-round knockout of Polyana Viana, and backed it up with unanimous decision victories over Michelle Waterson-Gomez and Luana Pinheiro.
Robertson then knocked out Marina Rodriguez in the second round, before earning this title shot with her points victory against Amanda Lemos in March of this year.