After her dominant win at UFC Des Moines, what’s next for Gillian Robertson?

This past Saturday on the prelims of UFC Des Moines, we saw a big fight in the strawweight division. Ranked contenders battled it out as Gillian Robertson (16-8) looked to keep her winning streak alive as she took on Marina Rodriguez (17-6-2).

This was one of those classic striker versus grappler matchups. Going into the fight, we all knew that this fight would ultimately come down to whether or not Marina Rodriguez could keep the fight standing. In the first round, she wasn’t able to do that as Robertson took her down and controlled much of the first round.

In the second round, Robertson again pushed for a takedown. Rodriguez went for a guillotine and for a second, it looked like she might have a chance to lock it in. However, Robertson is too good on the ground and easily got out of it. From there, Robertson went through the guard of Rodriguez and ended up mounting her against the fence. From there, she rained down shots before getting the TKO win at UFC Des Moines.

What’s next after UFC Des Moines?

This was a massive win for Robertson who has now won four fights in a row and dating back to September 2022, she’s 6-1 in her last seven fights. Her lone loss was a decision loss to Tabatha Ricci back in June 2023. In the latest UFC rankings update, Robertson came in at ninth.

Now that she’s in the top ten, I fully expect her to get another top ten opponent in her next fight. In terms of what the UFC will do, I think a lot will depend on how they view Robertson’s progression. With that, I have a couple of names in mind for her next fight.

If they want to give her a top ten opponent but keep her facing someone at a similar spot, I like the idea of Robertson facing off against Amanda Ribas. Ribas is currently ranked seventh and she’s coming off two losses to Rose Namajunas and Mackenzie Dern. Ribas is very well respected and this would be a nice progression for Robertson should get win that fight.

If the UFC wants to move her up even more, Amanda Lemos is a name I’d watch. Lemos is 2-2 in her last four, but she’s ranked fourth in the division. Lemos is a very big puncher but she has struggled at times with grapplers. This could be the key to Robertson making the leap to title contention. Those are the two names I have my eyes on.