Gillian Robertson excited for matchup against Miranda Maverick: “I see a young version of myself in her”
Last month at UFC 258, flyweights Gillian Robertson and Miranda Maverick were set to meet in a matchup of two young fighters looking to cement their place in a division filled with young talent, but on the day of the fight, Robertson became ill. In what she has described as a stomach illness, Robertson was forced to pull out of the fight which was then quickly rebooked for UFC 260.
Now that they will finally meet inside the Octagon, Robertson is excited to get a fight that she has been preparing for quite some time. During an interview with the On The Mic Podcast, Gillian Robertson discussed the upcoming matchup with Maverick, a young fighter who reminds her of herself. Maverick will enter the fight 1-0 in her UFC career, she also won the Invicta FC Flyweight tournament back in 2019 before getting the call to the UFC.
While her last fight didn’t go her way, Robertson is excited to face Maverick because she says she sees a younger version of herself in Maverick.
“I see her a lot like a younger version of me, honestly. I feel like she’s a gamer, I feel like she has decent wrestling and decent jiu-jitsu but she’s fallen in love with her striking a little bit more these last couple of fights. I just see her as an active competitor and she’s down to fight, she’s down to look for a finish. That’s what I like, girls who are always trying to finish me because that’s what I’m going to do, I’m going in to finish them too.”
Over the past year, Robertson has had the luxury of working with a well-respected coach, Din Thomas, who left American Top Team back in 2020 and has focused on working with a smaller team of fighters who he can groom, like Robertson. Feeding off that time with a smaller team and more 1-on-1 coaching time, Robertson says she has seen many improvements in her game, which has elevated her to a different level in her career.
“Honestly I’ve never seen myself excel so much in this sport. This last year I feel like I’m 100% a different fighter from last year this time till now. I would beat me, I would demolish me a year ago right now with how many improvements I’ve made in my standup, jiu-jitsu, I feel like just having that one-on-one attention it means the world, it’s made all the difference.”
Coming into UFC 260, there’s no doubt, Robertson is looking to show the improvements she has made over the past year with a smaller team around her, against a very game opponent in Maverick, one who reminds her of herself.
Gillian Robertson is looking to get back in the win column inside the Octagon and start a winning streak she can carry throughout 2021, a year she wants to stay as active as possible.
