Overview
- The UFC confirmed Dern will make her first 115-pound title defense against Gillian Robertson as the co-main event of UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena.
- Dern said she does not know why a planned fight with Zhang Weili did not materialize after UFC discussed sites including Macau, the White House and New Jersey.
- Dern told Ariel Helwani she is not disappointed by the change and feels no immediate pressure to ‘prove’ her title by facing Zhang, though she remains open to that matchup later.
- The fight pairs Dern’s formal IBJJF/ADCC-level jiu-jitsu pedigree against Robertson, who is the UFC women’s all-time leader in submission wins and earned the shot after beating Amanda Lemos.
- Dern expects a late finish and plans to pace the five-round title fight into rounds four or five, a strategy that highlights how championship duties and longer fights could affect her training and title defenses going forward.