Gillian Robertson isn’t giving much credence to Din Thomas’ apology. Robertson, 31, suffered a unanimous decision loss to Mackenzie Dern in her bid for the UFC strawweight title this past Saturday at UFC 330. It was Robertson’s first UFC title bout and came on the heels of a five-fight win streak that saw her claim the organization’s all-time women's record for submission wins and pull into a tie for the most finishes in UFC women's history. In the hours after Robertson’s loss, her longtime coach Thomas — who also works as a broadcast analyst for Paramount+ — appeared on the UFC 330 post-show and proclaimed that Robertson had gone “as far as she can go” in her career, and thus Thomas, 49, was announcing his retirement from cornering fighters. The remarks generated an immediate and intense backlash from both fighters and fans in the MMA community. Thomas subsequently issued a public apology Monday on his “Deep Waters” podcast, calling his comments “completely irresponsible.” “It was despicable,” Thomas said. “I shouldn't have done it. I should have waited until maybe even today — a different time — rather than take away her moment.”
Robertson, though, isn’t buying it. In a Tuesday statement to Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani, the Canadian submission specialist gave her side of the situation, explaining that Thomas gave her no prior warning before making his post-fight remarks. Robertson added that “comments [Thomas] has made since the broadcast, privately, to my team” have led her to believe “there is not much weight” in his public apology. Robertson’s full response:
"Prior to [Saturday's broadcast], I didn't see any sign of what was to be said. “After the broadcast, he had said, 'I will address this in the morning,' followed by, 'Going live on [Deep Waters] in 15 minutes.' “He did reach out to me privately at 5 p.m. and then sent a voice message apologizing around 7:30 p.m., to which I have not responded due to comments he has made since the broadcast, privately, to my team that led me to believe there is not much weight in the apology, such as, 'Me doing that publicly was more so for TV purposes and ratings.' “I don't think there's a conversation to be had. I'm good with everything. The people who sign my checks are cool. “As for now, I regroup, take some time to heal, and I will be back in the gym as soon as possible on the same mission."
I reached out to Gillian Robertson following Din Thomas’ comments and subsequent apology to get her thoughts on the situation. Here's what she had to say: "Prior to [Saturday's broadcast], I didn't see any sign of what was to be said. After the broadcast, he had said, 'I will… pic.twitter.com/NnoonGmkGQ — Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 18, 2026
Despite her first career title loss, Robertson remains a top-five ranked strawweight contender in the UFC’s official rankings.