Din Thomas didn’t wait to get home before making one of the more jarring announcements of his coaching career. Minutes after Gillian Robertson‘s strawweight title bid against Mackenzie Dern fell apart at UFC 330, the 49-year-old coach used his live mic as a UFC on Paramount+ analyst to announce he was done cornering fighters entirely, and made clear Robertson’s performance was part of why.

“I do have an announcement for you guys,” Thomas said. “I told myself I would continue to do this until I took Gillian as far as she could go. I think that might be as far as she can go, and I am officially retiring from cornering fighters tonight. It’s just that I told myself that I would do this with her. I would see her journey out and take her as far as I think she can go, and this might be as far as she can go.”   

He followed that with a more practical explanation.

“It’s a lot of work – it’s a lot of stress. It’s a lot of work. You’ve got to be there all week, and, again, I’ve been slowly telling you, like, I don’t cut weight with them, and it’s not fair to them. They need somebody who’s going to really put that type of work in with them.”    

It’s unclear whether Thomas would have stepped away regardless of the result, but Robertson’s loss clearly weighed on the timing. For years, Thomas has helped develop notable fighters, including Tyron Woodley and Amanda Nunes, and has coached Robertson since she was 16, giving him a clear personal stake in how far she could climb.

That made the co-main event at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia sting more directly. Robertson struggled to find her footing against a well-prepared Dern, unable to get the fight to the mat where her grappling could take over. Dern controlled four of the five rounds en route to a unanimous decision by scores of 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47, retaining her 115-pound title in her first successful defense.

That result was enough for Thomas to conclude his cornering days were over, and enough for a lot of people in the sport to conclude he’d handled it badly. Dana White’s reaction was more bewildered than angry.

“That’s weird. He didn’t say anything to me,” White said at the post-fight presser. I didn’t know about that. I’ve never heard about retiring from cornering. That might be a first. That’s the first I’ve ever heard of it. Maybe he’s just tired of the grind. You know, he’s worked with so many fighters over the years. Maybe he’s just burnt out.”  

The UFC CEO kept his reaction focused entirely on Thomas’ retirement from cornering and didn’t press much on the veteran coach’s comments about Gillian Robertson. However, UFC’s longtime play-by-play commentator Jon Anik and two-time middleweight champion Sean Strickland completely grilled Thomas for belittling Robertson’s efforts at UFC 330. 

“Wow. Awful. Not about you, bro! Wow,” Anik wrote on social media while replying to a post about Thomas’ retirement. Later, he also clarified that the Florida-based coach announcing his decision wasn’t a good move.

“This is a wild misstep,” Anik wrote in a subsequent social media post.

After that, two-time middleweight champion Sean Strickland also weighed in on Din Thomas’ retirement and posted an X-rated reaction on X, criticizing the veteran coach for potentially spoiling Gillian Robertson’s chances at UFC 330 with poor cornering.

“Din Thomas is a f— c—t,” Strickland wrote. “I’ve had my a— kicked in multiple weight classes through my career and won two titles… You’re a d—k head. It’s probably better you retire. You’re a s—t coach. You only lose when you quit… Din, sounds like you’re a f—-g loser.”

But that’s not all. After Dana White, Jon Anik, and Strickland, other names from the MMA world also joined the growing chorus of backlash against Din Thomas. 

MMA Media Slams Din Thomas Over His Decision to Retire From Cornering after Robertson’s loss 

The criticism didn’t stop with the UFC’s own broadcast team. Journalist Marcel Dorff called out Thomas for making the moment about himself.

“Din thinks he is the main character….look how proudly he faces the camera when he announcing it…. It’s not about you dude. Stand behind your fighter in good and bad times. The coaching was abysmal as well in between rounds. Gillian might be better off without you.”

Following that, another senior MMA journalist, Adam Martin, also showed backlash towards the veteran coach, “This was such a horrible look for Din Thomas last night. I fully expect him to come out and apologize to Gillian Robertson for this. Throwing your fighter under the bus publicly like this immediately after the fight is crazy work.” 

Here, Martin slammed Thomas, stating that his corner work actually sabotaged Robertson’s chances of winning the belt last night. Indeed, Thomas was animated throughout the fight, but many pointed out that his cornering lacked tactical advice for the Canadian, consisting mostly of motivational speeches, such as telling her to “wake up” in the middle of the round.  

Last but not least, Oktagon fighter Katharina Lehner also questioned Thomas, writing, “His fighter just lost a title shot, and his reaction is this?” 

Thomas hasn’t publicly addressed the backlash since. He continues to host his Deep Waters podcast, and Robertson’s next move at 115 pounds remains unclear following the loss, now without the cornerman who’d been with her since she was a teenager.