Overview
- Mackenzie Dern will defend the UFC strawweight title against Gillian Robertson in the co-main event of UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
- Dern said she does not know why a return fight with Zhang Weili did not materialize and added she was not disappointed by the booking decision.
- Dern told reporters she is focused on submitting Robertson to prove her jiu-jitsu credentials and expects the fight to be decided in the later rounds.
- Robertson is the UFC women’s leader in submission wins with seven career finishes, but her current five-fight win streak has produced no submissions.
- Zhang vacated the 115-pound title to try flyweight, lost to Valentina Shevchenko, and has not publicly clarified whether she will return to strawweight, leaving the division’s lineage unsettled.