Mackenzie Dern outgrapples Gillian Robertson to win lackluster title fight in UFC 330 co-main event

Mackenzie Dern successfully defended her strawweight title against Gillian Robertson in a dominant grappling display at UFC 330's co-main event, taking the bout 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 on the judges' scorecards. Dern's superior wrestling and submission setup terrorized Robertson throughout the fight, particularly in Rounds 1 and 2, where the champion nearly finished with a rear-naked choke but Robertson's toughness kept her in the fight. Robertson managed only one round of her own (Round 5) and struggled to generate meaningful offense on the feet or ground, spending much of the contest on her back defending submissions. Dern, who captured the title in October at UFC 321 by defeating Virna Jandiroba, showed why her elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu background makes her one of the division's most dangerous threats. The Canadian challenger Robertson, who holds the record for most UFC submissions by a female fighter with seven, could not convert that skill set into an upset, leaving her quest to become Canada's first female UFC champion unfulfilled. Post-fight, Dern expressed satisfaction with her performance and noted she had worked extensively on her wrestling. She expressed desire to feature in a future bout against former champion Zhang Weili if she competes again at 115 pounds.