‘The Savage’ Gillian Robertson returns to the Octagon at UFC on ESPN 6 in Boston. Although headlined by a light heavyweight bout, Robertson will certainly be looking to steal the show. Her opponent on the night will be undefeated rising prospect Maycee Barber. With the joint most wins in the women’s flyweight division, Robertson will be looking to cement her status as one of the divisions most dangerous when she faces Barber in Boston.
Gillian Robertson puts on a Canadian Showcase
Gillian Robertson was most recently in action at UFC 240 in her native Canada. On this occasion, she progressed to 4-1 in the UFC, with her fourth finish and her first career TKO victory. This win is even more impressive as it has recently come to light that her opponent at UFC 240, Sarah Frota took performance-enhancing drugs prior to the bout.
Robertson again trained for her UFC 240 bout out of American Top Team in Florida. As one of the most respected camps in the world of MMA, Robertson has the opportunity to train alongside some of the UFC’s best talent. These include former champions Joanna Jedrzejckyk and Dustin Poirier and double champ Amanda Nunes. Speaking to MMASucka, Robertson stated, “It’s an absolute honour to train around so many top-quality fighters at ATT. You’re just surrounded by that drive, that non-stop work ethic constantly and it aspires you to reach those heights.”
Following her UFC 240 bout, Robertson has continued to compete, albeit not in the octagon. She recently competed in a BJJ gi tournament, sharpening her skills and coming away with an impressive four victories.
The Savage meets The Future
When Gillian Robertson and Maycee Barber meet in Boston, it will mark Robertson’s eleventh professional fight and Barber’s eighth. Robertson, however, has had the experience of competing on The Ultimate Fighter under the coaching of Justin Gaethje. ‘The Savage’ also has 10 amateur fights to Barber’s one, meaning she’ll have the competitive experience edge. Speaking on her experience advantage, Robertson believes she will, “Hold an experience advantage over Maycee, not only because I have more high-level fights than her but because of my vast amateur experience as well.”
She also believes that Barber has faced ‘fewer dangerous opponents’, filling her with even more confidence coming into the bout. Barber has been impressive in her short two-fight UFC career, scoring two finishes in as many bouts. Speaking on her opponent, Gillian Robertson believes that, “Barber has an aggressive muay Thai style and ground and pound but she’s never faced a girl like me before. I don’t believe she will be able to handle my jiu-jitsu game and I have a good way of forcing people into my world.”
With Gillian Robertson ranked #15 and Barber ranked #12, the winner of this bout has a good opportunity to break into the top 10. In what is a fairly shallow division, mainly based on the fact that it is a new division, the UFC is crying out for a breakthrough performance. With two high action, exciting fighters we could very well see a breakout performance in Boston.
Looking forward
The winner of this could very well break into the top 10 of the flyweight division. Previously, Maycee Barber has stated that she wants to break Jon Jones’ record of being the youngest UFC champion in history. Unlike Barber, however, Robertson is in no rush for a title shot. She simply believes that it will come naturally. At just 24, the Canadian will be 5-1 in the UFC if she can get through Barber. Speaking on a title run, Gillian Robertson puts, “Still being so young in the sport I’m in no rush to get to the title but obviously, if I keep winning fights it’s going to come sooner rather than later. I’m assuming with in the next 1 or 2 I will be looking at a contender fight.”
With Robertson’s finishing streak in the UFC, it certainly won’t be long until she finds herself in the contender fights. As long as these women take the right fights and continue to put the work in, there is no reason why we couldn’t be seeing a future champion compete in Boston.
