Mackenzie Dern feels vindicated with UFC 330 win – but sees room for improvement

PHILADELPHIA – Mackenzie Dern thinks she solidified her championship status at UFC 330, but there's still room for improvement.

In the co-main event Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena, Dern (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) defeated Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision to notch her first title defense. Not getting a finish was a tad disappointing, she admitted.

"It feels good, but it could feel even better if I got the submission," Dern told MMA Junkie and other reporters after the fight. "I'm someone who is always looking for the best performance possible. I'm happy with my wrestling. I'm happy with the dominance of the fight. But I wanted to submit Gillian for sure. There are lots of things where I want to get better. I want to be able to defend it more and more times. But I definitely feel like I solidified myself as the champ."

Dern voiced confidence ahead of the fight, particularly when it came to comparing ground abilities with Robertson (17-9 MMA, 14-7 UFC), a submission-savvy foe who lacked the same sort of grappling credentials. Now that the fight is over, she points at herself when reflecting on why the finish evaded her.

"I think it was something I could've done better for sure," Dern said. "There was some moments in the fight that I was just kind of split between whether I'd do more damage or if I look for the submission. You get in the moment and you think, 'Ah, should I stay more in this type of position so I can hit her more or do I keep attacking the submission?' Like, the rear-naked choke, if I had gotten it 15 seconds earlier, I think I would've gotten it because it was pretty deep. But little details, little things that I can definitely fix."

Dern has always felt she's the rightful champion. In a sense, though, she recognizes that a title defense might bring credibility from fans who point out that she didn't beat Zhang Weili, the previous champion who vacated.

"I felt like the champion before I won the belt," Dern said. "I just feel like I solidified myself even more as a champ for the fans that they would say that. I don't think I need to (beat) Weili to be a champ. People retire. I'm not saying that's what she's going to do but the more defenses I can get at this, whoever comes next, I think I proved I was the champ. Gillian was on a five-fight winning streak. Virna was a four-fight winning streak. I just became a four-fight winning streak. I don't know how much more I need to do from that."

Weili (26-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) moved to flyweight to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for flyweight gold. She lopsidedly came up short and has yet to return to competition since. Weili's future still remains up in the air. Dern doesn't think her next title defense needs to be against the Chinese former champion.

"I don't hope for anybody," Dern said. "Whoever the UFC gives to me, I'll be ready."

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Mackenzie Dern feels vindicated with UFC 330 win – but sees room for improvement