TLDR
- Gillian Robertson revealed Din Thomas gave her no warning before announcing his coaching retirement during UFC 330
- Thomas told Robertson’s team his public apology was ‘more so for TV purposes and ratings’
- Robertson has not responded to Thomas’ private apology and sees ‘not much weight’ in it
- Thomas coached Robertson since she was 15 years old through her UFC career
- Robertson plans to return to training soon and says her relationship with UFC remains good
Sources: mmafighting.com | mmamania.com
UFC fighter Gillian Robertson has released her first public statement about the controversy surrounding her longtime coach Din Thomas and his retirement announcement during UFC 330.
Robertson revealed that Thomas told her his public apology was issued “more so for TV purposes and ratings” rather than genuine reconciliation. The Canadian fighter shared her statement with The Ariel Helwani Show on Monday.
Thomas announced his retirement from corner work during the UFC 330 broadcast on Saturday, immediately after Robertson lost her strawweight title fight to champion Mackenzie Dern. The timing of his announcement sparked backlash across the MMA community.
UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland called Thomas “a shit coach” for how he handled the situation. Thomas later apologized on his Deep Waters podcast, calling his own actions “despicable.”
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
Robertson Says She Received No Warning
Robertson stated that Thomas gave her no indication of his plans before appearing on the UFC 330 post-fight show. “Prior to the broadcast, I didn’t see any sign of what was to be said,” Robertson explained in her statement.
After the broadcast ended, Thomas told Robertson he would “address this in the morning.” He then informed her he was “going live on air in 15 minutes” for his podcast.
Thomas reached out privately to Robertson at 5 p.m. on the day after the fight. He sent a voice message apologizing around 7:30 p.m.
Robertson has not responded to the apology. She said comments Thomas made privately to her team revealed his true intentions.
“Me doing that publicly was more so for TV purposes and ratings,” Robertson quoted Thomas as saying to her team. This statement led her to believe “there is not much weight in the apology.”
Long Coaching Relationship Now in Question
Thomas has coached Robertson since she was 15 years old. Robertson made her UFC debut in 2017 and set submission records at 125 pounds before moving down to strawweight.
The fighter won five straight fights at strawweight to earn her title shot against Dern at UFC 330. She lost the bout but retained her position in the division rankings.
Robertson indicated she has no plans to reconcile with Thomas. “I don’t think there’s a conversation to be had,” she stated.
The fighter confirmed that her relationship with the UFC remains intact. “The people who sign my checks are cool,” Robertson said.
Robertson plans to take time to recover from the fight before returning to training. “I regroup, take some time to heal, and I will be back in the gym as soon as possible on the same mission,” she stated in her final comments.
