Din Thomas is gearing up for a familiar but high-stakes role as he prepares to coach Gillian Robertson in her strawweight title fight against Mackenzie Dern at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Robertson (17-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC) enters the bout on a five-fight winning streak and is 7-1 in her past eight, while ranked No. 6 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie strawweight rankings. Dern (16-5 MMA, 11-5 UFC), ranked No. 2, currently holds the strawweight submission record with five tapouts, while Robertson owns the overall women’s UFC submission record with seven.
"This is just another opportunity to dare to be great," Thomas said as he reflected on the matchup between two of the UFC’s most dangerous grapplers. "We're exploring all the different paths, but it does make for an exciting battle between two of the most effective – not just in women's divisions, or this division, but in all of the UFC – two of the most effective jiu-jitsu players who use their grappling to get to the finish line."
Thomas, who has coached Robertson since she was a teenager and previously worked with UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Amanda Nunes, emphasized the personal stakes. "This one is even more special because I've been with her for her whole journey, since she first walked into a gym."
Zhang Weili was the initial choice to challenge Dern but opted for a layoff from competition, opening the door for Robertson’s title opportunity at UFC 330.
