Dern retains UFC strawweight title but slams her own performance after unanimous decision over Robertson

Mackenzie Dern retained the UFC strawweight title at UFC 330 with a unanimous decision victory over Gillian Robertson in the co-main event, but the champion wasted little time in tearing apart her own display, telling Ariel Helwani she was unhappy with almost every aspect of her performance.

Dern controlled the fight throughout, outclassing Robertson in the standup and on the ground, yet she left the cage frustrated rather than satisfied. The Brazilian-American champion pointed to deficiencies in her cardio, endurance, striking and grappling as areas that must improve before her next outing.

“I’m not happy with my performance,” Dern said. “I wish I did better. I wasn’t happy with my cardio, my endurance. I wasn’t happy with my striking. I wasn’t happy with my grappling. I wasn’t happy. I should have done a lot of that stuff better. I should have finished that fight, honestly. Obviously, Gillian is very tough too… If I fought that performance against someone else coming up, that wouldn’t be good.”

Dern acknowledged Robertson’s durability as a factor, but made clear she holds herself to a higher standard than a points win. The concern is pointed: with a queue of dangerous contenders waiting, she believes a repeat showing could cost her the belt.

Dern claimed the vacant title last year by defeating Virna Jandiroba after former champion Weili Zhang relinquished the strawweight crown and moved up a division. This was her first title defence, and she is already mapping out her next challenger — with Zhang, Tatiana Suarez and Lupita Godinez all named as potential opponents.

A rematch with Zhang would be the marquee option, pitting Dern against the fighter whose departure created the vacancy she eventually filled. Suarez, meanwhile, has long been regarded as one of the division’s most dangerous threats, while Godinez represents a rising contender pushing for her shot.