Mackenzie Dern, top, battles Gillian Robertson in a women’s strawweight title fight at the UFC 330 mixed martial arts event Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo\/Derik Hamilton)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-08-16T03:35:33Z<\/p>\n
PHILADELPHIA (AP) \u2014 Mackenzie Dern successfully defended the 115-pound championship in her first title defense with a unanimous decision victory over Gillian Robertson in the first of two championship fights on Saturday night at UFC 330.<\/p>\n
Dern (17-5) won the vacant strawweight belt in her last fight at UFC 321 and won a lopsided and lackluster first defense against Robertson.<\/p>\n
Dern won 49-46 on two scorecards and 48-47 on the third.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to get the submission with Gillian,\u201d Dern said. \u201cI definitely wanted to submit her. That was the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dern nearly made Robertson (17-9) tap in the first round with a choke hold that about turned the challenger\u2019s face as pinkish-red as her braided hair. Dern might have won the bout had it stretched even another 30 seconds, but Robertson was saved by the bell.<\/p>\n
Too bad the fight didn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n
The next four rounds were relatively uneventful, and the title match slowed to a near complete stop as they mostly locked up on the canvas with barely a strike thrown.<\/p>\n
Dern\u2019s 7-year-old daughter peered her head over the barricade from her front row seat and shouted encouragement each time mom got close to her side of the cage. The little girl could be heard well over a rowdy crowd that had about been lulled into passiveness \u2014 and eventually, boos in the fifth round \u2014 in the humdrum title fight.<\/p>\n
The next one should be a banger.<\/p>\n
Islam Makhachev can set the UFC record for most consecutive wins with 17 if the 170-pound champion defeats Ian Machado Garry in the main event.<\/p>\n
Makhachev is tied with UFC Hall of Famer Anderson Silva with 16 straight victories. Makhachev (28-1) has not lost since UFC 192 in 2015, and he won the welterweight crown in his first attempt when he beat Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322<\/a><\/span> in November 2025.<\/p>\n