The enitre MMA world seems to have weighed in on the controversy surrounding Din Thomas’ insensitive comments on Gillian Robertson’s title loss at UFC 330, except for Robertson herself – until now.
Robertson (17-8 MMA, 14-6 UFC), who lost a unanimous decision to strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern in the co-main event of Saturday’s card in Philadelphia, saw Thomas, her head coach, go on the official UFC 330 post-fight broadcast fresh off her defeat to announce he was done cornering fighters, citing that Robertson had gone “as far as she could go” in her MMA career.
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The on-air moment, live streamed on Paramount+, went viral as many criticized Thomas for unnecessarily throwing Robertson under the bus shortly after a tough career moment. On Monday, Thomas issued a public apology to Robertson on “Deep Waters,” a podcast he hosts along with UFC fighters Jorge Masvidal, Dustin Poirier, and Chris Weidman.
In a text message to Ariel Helwani, Robertson revealed she wasn’t given a heads-up that Thomas would announce his “retirement” from cornering and found his apology to be “empty.”
“Prior to the broadcast, I didn’t see any sign of what was to be said,” Robertson said in her text message, which Helwani read Tuesday on his show. “After the broadcast, he had said (on Sunday) ‘I will address this in the morning’ followed by (on Monday) ‘going live on air in 15 minutes.’ He did reach out to me privately (on Monday) at 5 p.m. and then sent a voice message apologizing around 7:30 p.m., to which I have not responded due to comments he has made since the broadcast privately to my team that lead me to believe there is not much weight in the apology.”
Robertson explained that she believes, based on private comments, Thomas’ apology was simply for show rather than genuine.
Robertson, 31, was asked if she would continue working with Thomas, since he clarified he was only done cornering but not coaching. Robertson has not responded on the status of her future with Thomas as of Tuesday afternoon.
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Robertson entered UFC 330 on a five-fight winning streak. Her most recent victories entering her first UFC title fight had come against notable names in Marina Rodriguez and Amanda Lemos. Robertson currently trains out of GOAT Shed in Miami. She previously trained at American Top Team for nearly a decade, where she made the connection with Thomas, who’s been her coach since she was 15 years old.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Gillian Robertson rejects Din Thomas’ apology over UFC 330 flub
