No need to prove anything.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern successfully defended her 115-pound strap against Gillian Robertson in UFC 330’s co-main event this past weekend (Sat., Aug. 15, 2026) inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It was a dominant, one-sided unanimous decision victory. However, even after Dern’s first successful title defense, one name continues to loom large over the division: former
champion Weili Zhang.
That is because Zhang never lost the Strawweight title. Instead, she vacated it to pursue a second championship, only to get blanked by Flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko in a noncompetitive fight.
In Zhang’s absence, Dern defeated Virna Jandiroba to capture the vacant belt and has now successfully defended it.
But the outside noise does not bother Dern, and the 33-year-old believes she is unquestionably the rightful champion.
“No, [I don’t need to beat Zhang],” Dern told reporters during the UFC 330 post-fight press conference. “I felt like the champion before when I won the belt. I just think I solidified myself even more as the champ for the fans who would say that, but I don’t think I need to beat Weili to be a champ.
“You know, people retire—I’m not saying that’s what she’s going to do—but the more defenses I can get with this and whoever is next, I think I’ve proved that I’m the champion,” Dern continued. “I mean, Gillian had a five-fight winning streak, Virna had a five-fight winning streak and I just got a four-fight winning streak. So, I don’t know how much more I need to do to prove that.”
There is absolutely no doubt that Dern is the undisputed UFC champion. She has now further solidified her reign with a successful title defense—something Jessica Andrade and Carla Esparza were unable to accomplish as Strawweight champions.
Still, Dern finds herself in a similar situation to Daniel Cormier when he held the Light Heavyweight title while Jon Jones was suspended. Cormier was unquestionably the official champion, but many fans still viewed Jones as the division’s true king because he never lost the belt inside the Octagon.
Unfortunately for Dern, Zhang has been nowhere to be found lately outside of a few videos showing her getting a makeover and performing TikTok dances.
Dern wants to return in early 2027 for her second title defense.
Hopefully, Zhang decides to show up by then.
For more UFC 330 results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.
