The strawweight division is absolutely mental right now, and Gillian Robertson just threw her name proper into the title mix with a masterful performance against former title challenger Amanda Lemos at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. The Canadian’s dominant victory has positioned her perfectly for a potential strawweight title shot in the coming months.
Robertson’s Ground Game Dominates Brazilian Veteran
Robertson (17-8), sitting at No. 7 in the rankings, showcased exactly why her ground game is the stuff of nightmares for the entire division. The Canadian absolutely dominated sixth-ranked Lemos (15-6-1) across three rounds, extending her winning streak to five fights with a unanimous decision victory.
However, make no mistake about it – Lemos isn’t some journeywoman getting fed to the wolves. This Brazilian scrapper challenged Zhang Weili for the title back in 2023 and bounced back from that setback by dismantling Mackenzie Dern, who now wears the belt. Proper pedigree, that.
Furthermore, the opening exchanges belonged to Lemos, who kept Robertson at bay with crisp jabs and punishing low kicks. But once Robertson secured that first takedown midway through the opener, the fight was essentially over. Game, set, match.
Perfect Game Plan Execution Seals Victory
The 30-year-old from Niagara Falls turned the screw beautifully in rounds two and three. One takedown per round was all she needed, controlling Lemos for over four minutes in the second and three and a half in the third. Consequently, Robertson outlanded the 38-year-old Brazilian by more than two-to-one in the final two frames, making it a straightforward 29-28 sweep on all three scorecards.
“That’s five wins in a row,” Robertson declared. “I’ve got the most finishes out of any woman [10], the most submissions out of any woman [7]. All I need is that belt to solidify myself.”
Most importantly, the strawweight picture is bonkers at the minute. Six of the top ten are scrapping within the next month according to the UFC schedule. Meanwhile, champion Dern sits without a fight booked, and Zhang’s still deciding whether to drop back down after her flyweight title shot against Valentina Shevchenko went tits up in November.
In addition, the main event saw Kevin Vallejos absolutely demolish Josh Emmett in devastating fashion. The 24-year-old Argentine dropped Emmett early, outlanded him 43-3, and finished the job at 3:33 of the first round as reported by Sherdog.