Kansas City — A drop down to the UFC’s women’s strawweight division paid off for Canadian Gillian Robertson at UFC Kansas City.
Robertson (12-7), already the UFC’s submissions leader among ladies both at flyweight, and overall, as well as the women’s flyweight finishes leader, notched submission win #7 care of an arm-bar against Piera Rodriguez.
A Contender Series veteran, Rodriguez protested the stoppage, which was announced as a verbal submission — despite the replay showing an apparent tap, and the ref clearly overhearing something indicating she was done.
For her part, Robertson wasn’t sure what the controversy was about following the fight. “I’m just there for the ref to pull me off. I wasn’t paying attention to that at all necessarily,” she told media outlets including Cageside Press. “I was just thinking about tucking her arm underneath my armpit, and I was just going to break it. If anything, he saved her.”
The win left the 27-year old Canadian “feeling great,” she stated. “Just trying to add to my record. I already set flyweight records, we’re trying to set them strawwweight records now.”
As for the move to 115lbs, the reasoning is simple, added Roberts. “I’m tiny. I feel like I’ve been undersized in all my fights, and the weight cut was super easy. Even this time, I dieted hard for 12 weeks, and I think I cut one pound the day of. So it’s still a very easy weight cut, and I just feel like strawweight’s home for me.”
If strawweight is home, the 115lb division had better watch out. Robertson recently secured a win over Rose Namajunas on the grappling side of things, at Fury Pro Grappling 6.
“I know that once I get on the floor, there is not a single girl in the UFC that’s going to give me trouble,” Robertson stated. “So I knew once I was on top of her [Rodriguez], it wouldn’t be long before it was game over.”
Next up for Gillian Robertson, “I definitely want someone ranked,” she told reporters. One name she’s game for: the “Baby Shark,” Tabatha Ricci. The Brazilian was in Rodriguez’s corner on Saturday. “I would love to have that before the end of the year.”
As far as the win over Namajunas in grappling, and how that compared to Saturday, “nothing can compare to a UFC win, especially in front of a crowd,” Robertson told Cageside Press. UFC Kansas City marked just the second time since COVID that Robertson had competed in front of fans, she added. “To be able to have that crowd there, everybody cheering for you, seeing your face on the big screen, nothing can compare to that feeling.”
Watch the full UFC Kansas City post-fight press conference with Gillian Robertson above.
