Mackenzie Dern outgrapples Gillian Robertson to retain Strawweight Gold at UFC 330 co-main event. Mackenzie Dern put her Brazilian jiu-jitsu and improved wrestling on full display in the UFC 330 co-main event, outgrappling Gillian Robertson.
On Saturday, August 15, 2026, the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, played host to a high-stakes championship battle as Mackenzie Dern defended her UFC strawweight title against Gillian Robertson in the co-main event of UFC 330.
Mackenzie Dern entered UFC 330 in excellent form, riding a three-fight winning streak. Her most recent fight came in October 2025, when she defeated Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision at UFC 321 to capture the vacant UFC strawweight title. Before that, Dern submitted Amanda Ribas with an armbar in January 2025 and defeated Loopy Godínez by unanimous decision in August 2024. Dern’s last defeat came in February 2024, when Amanda Lemos beat her by unanimous decision at UFC 298. Since then, Dern had rebuilt her momentum with three straight victories and arrived in Philadelphia as the champion.
Gillian Robertson came into the title fight with even more momentum. Robertson had won five consecutive fights, including a unanimous decision over Amanda Lemos in March 2026. Before that, she stopped Marina Rodriguez by second-round TKO in May 2025 and defeated Luana Pinheiro by unanimous decision in November 2024. Robertson’s run had followed a unanimous decision loss to Tabatha Ricci in June 2023. She responded with a victory over Polyana Viana, followed by wins over Michelle Waterson-Gomez, Pinheiro, Rodriguez and Lemos.
Dern started by establishing her striking range, working her jab and leg kicks while Robertson looked to close the distance and turn the fight into a grappling battle. Robertson pressed forward, but Dern was able to dictate much of the early action. Dern’s movement and cleaner boxing allowed her to land while avoiding prolonged exchanges. Once the grappling exchanges began, Dern showed the difference in their ground games. She secured a takedown and quickly began working from top position, staying heavy and looking for opportunities to advance. Robertson attempted to scramble and create space, but Dern stayed attached and continued threatening with submissions.
Round two began and Dern continued to look comfortable on the feet, mixing her jab with kicks and straight punches.
Robertson tried to pressure forward and force the clinch, but Dern repeatedly disrupted her rhythm. When Robertson managed to get close, Dern was ready to engage in the grappling exchanges rather than simply retreat. Dern secured another takedown and went straight to work from top position. She controlled Robertson’s hips, limited her movement and searched for openings for submissions. Robertson defended well enough to avoid being finished, but she spent much of the round fighting off her back and trying to escape Dern’s control.
Dern began to find her rhythm even more on the feet in round three, her boxing looked sharp as she landed clean combinations while using lateral movement to keep Robertson guessing. Robertson remained active with her own jab and short punches, but she struggled to produce enough offense to change the momentum. Robertson successfully stuffed one of Dern’s takedown attempts and landed some short uppercuts during a clinch exchange but Dern kept the pressure on. With about a minute remaining, Dern changed levels and completed another takedown. She immediately began working from top position, controlling Robertson until the end of the round.
Early in the round four, Dern secured a takedown and quickly worked her way toward Robertson’s back. Once she established back control, Dern began hunting for a rear-naked choke. Robertson found herself trapped underneath Dern as the champion stayed glued to her position and repeatedly looked for the submission. Robertson eventually managed to escape and briefly ended up on top. Dern immediately attacked from her guard, threatening an armbar from the bottom but Robertson survived the submission attempt and landed a few punches late in the round, but still, Dern had controlled the majority of the action.
Robertson entered the final round knowing she needed to make something happen. She immediately increased the pressure, chasing Dern around the cage and throwing more combinations. Robertson finally secured a takedown and moved into Dern’s guard. For the first time in the fight, Robertson was able to spend an extended period in top position.
Dern remained active from her back, using her guard to prevent Robertson from doing significant damage while looking for submission opportunities. Robertson continued working from the top and clearly won the round, but by then Dern had already built too much of a lead on the scorecards.
“I’m super happy,” Dern said about her win. “My first title win I got taken down a lot of times so I’ve been working on my wrestling. I’m still the champion. I definitely wanted to submit her, that was the goal. I try to get submissions in all my fights. I wish I could do some more damage to set up the submissions.”
Dern’s performance was built around takedowns, top control, positional grappling and constant submission threats. Robertson’s late rally showed her toughness, but Dern had already controlled the majority of the fight. Afterward, Dern said she was happy with her title defense and pointed to the work she had put into improving her wrestling. She also acknowledged that she had wanted to finish Robertson rather than leave the decision to the judges.
Check out UFC 330 results below.
UFC 330 main card
Islam Makhachev def. Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 48-47)
Mackenzie Dern def. Gillian Robertson via unanimous decision (49-46 x2, 48-47)
Jalin Turner def. Kaue Fernandes via first-round KO (0:39)
Dustin Stoltzfus def. Mansur Abdul-Malik via submission (RNC) (R2, 4:25)
Esteban Ribovics def. Edson Barboza via second-round TKO (1:32)
UFC 330 Preliminary Card
Chidi Njokuani def. Joel Alvarez via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Charles Johnson def. Eduardo Chapolin via sub (Scottish Twister) (R3, 1:36)
Donte Johnson def. Eric McConico via first-round KO (1:38)
Tresean Gore def. Vicente Luque via unanimous decision (30-27 x2, 29-28)
Lucas Fernando def. Rafael Tobias via third-round TKO (1:10)
Neil Magny def. Ramiz Brahimaj via second-round TKO (3:20)
Jeremiah Wells def. Myktybek Orolbai via submission (ninja choke) (R3, 1:24)
