Mackenzie Dern has explained how she ended up not taking on Weili Zhang in her first title defence this summer.
Zhang failed in her effort to move up to flyweight and become a two-weight world champion against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 322. And after the fact, it seemed obvious that she would move back down to reclaim her belt at 115lb.
However, Dana White confirmed last week that the newly-crowned champion Dern would make her first defence against Gillian Robertson. The fight will serve as co-main event to UFC 330 which is headlined by Islam Makhachev’s welterweight title defence against Ian Machado Garry.
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Mackenzie Dern unsure about why Weili Zhang missed out on UFC 330
After picking up gold in Abu Dhabi back in October, Mackenzie Dern has been made to wait for her first time defending the belt. She expected that to be against Weili Zhang, but was instead offered the Canadian contender Gillian Robertson.
Asked why the fight with Zhang had fallen through during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show tonight, Dern seemed as confused as anyone. “They were talking about Weili,” she explained after replying that she didn’t know why the bout wasn’t happening.
“They had mentioned Macau, then the White House, New Jersey. So I’m not sure what happened or what’s going on. But they came back with Gillian Robertson, I think, after her win against Amanda Lemos… I’m not sure what the deal with Weili is or what is happening.
“I would be excited to fight her, but not in a pressure way, like I need to prove it to people… A lot of people say I’m not the champ because I didn’t beat her.
“For me, it would just be an honor, and I’d really like to test myself. It would be amazing to beat her, but if I have six more months or however many title fights I can get in and just get better and better and be more prepared to fight her, I’m excited for that.”
2026-06-30 03:30:00
