Gillian Robertson knows that she isn’t speculated to be next in line for a strawweight title shot.
‘The Savage’ has put together a powerful five-fight win streak to develop into a top contender at 115lbs.
Still, everyone was shocked when she was booked to face Mackenzie Dern for strawweight gold at UFC 330 on August 15.
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Gillian Robertson doesn’t know why she ignored Zhang Weili
Last yr, the previous UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili vacated her belt to pursue a super-fight.
‘Magnum’ jumped as much as flyweight, but fell short in her bid to develop into a two-weight champion at UFC 322.
125lb queen Valentina Shevchenko outpointed Zhang over five rounds to retain her flyweight title in November.
The Chinese superstar was expected to return to strawweight and fight Mackenzie Dern, who claimed the vacant 115lb strap in her absence.
“I used to be just hoping for the most effective, I assume,” Gillian Robertson said when asked if she was surprised to get a title shot during an appearance on Tuesday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show.
“I knew that Weili was definitely within the talks if she was coming back. I do think she deserved the spot before me.
“Obviously, things didn’t work out that way. I don’t know if it’s something on her side, the UFC side, whatever.
“But after my last performance, I expected the decision, and I used to be hoping for it so long as Weili wasn’t back in the image.
“I’ve been waiting for it to occur. I knew that so long as Weili wasn’t in the image, it was my shot. I used to be just waiting for it. When it happened, I used to be definitely hit with a whole lot of emotion, nevertheless it just seems like it’s time.”
Who else is fighting at UFC 330?
Mackenzie Dern vs. Gillian Robertson will co-headline UFC 330 on the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 15.
The foremost event will see Islam Makhachev defend his welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry.
To date, eight fights have been announced for the cardboard. See below for the present UFC 330 line-up.
- Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Gillian Robertson
- Geoff Neal vs. Chidi Njokuani
- Myktybek Orolbai vs. Jeremiah Wells
- Vicente Luque vs. Tresean Gore
- Dustin Stoltzfus vs. Mansur Abdul-Malik
- Edson Barboza vs. Esteban Ribovics
- Erin Blanchfield vs. Jasmine Jasudavicius
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