Gillian Robertson has seldom failed to impress the world of mixed martial arts with her BJJ skills. Back in 2020, she even ensured that her name was etched in the golden lettering of UFC history, as she defeated Cortney Casey with a rear-naked choke and broke the record for the most wins in UFC women’s history by submission. Needless to say, the fighter has displayed great prowess in her fights. While Robertson is known for her submission skills and Canadian pride, the roots of her fighting spirit trace back to Scotland.

Today, let’s take a deep dive and get to know everything about Robertson’s family. While she likes to don the Canadian flag on her back, her ancestry lies in the lands of the Scots. Let’s jump right in.

Where is Gillian Robertson from? Who are her parents?

‘The Savage’ was born in Ontario, Canada, on the 17th of May, 1995. However, the Canadian nationalist’s ancestry lies in Scotland. In the previous year, talking to Combat Sports UK, Robertson revealed the truth about her heritage. She revealed that both of her parents hailed from Scotland. And talking about fighting in the land where her parents were born extracted quite a bit of excitement from the fighter.

“Both my parents are born in Scotland, so I would absolutely love to do a card in Scotland,” said Robertson. “It would be absolutely be amazing to go over there. I’ve never been over there in general. My whole family is from there, all my heritage is from there. I would love to go in general, but to be able to perform there would be absolutely insane for me.”

Even though the UFC’s move to Scotland was uncertain at that time, ‘The Savage’ was quite happy at just the idea of it. Without a doubt, the fighter with a record of 9-1 as an amateur was proud of her heritage.

Growing up in the town that housed the great Niagara Falls, Robertson had to move to South Florida with her folks when she was seven years old. And that was when she was introduced to the world of mixed martial arts.

‘The Savage’ kickstarted her career in the UFC with The Ultimate Fighter 26, back in 2017. She was, without a doubt, a phenom inside the MMA cage, boasting a professional record of 4-2 back then. But her parents didn’t take the news of her pursuing a career in martial arts very well.

How did Gillian Robertson’s family react to her fighting dreams?

Gillian Robertson was good in her studies and got an AA in general education. Despite having a GPA of 4.2, Robertson dreamed of making martial arts her bread and butter. When she finally told her family what she wanted to do with her life, arguments ensued as her parents didn’t seem to understand why someone with aspirations to be a veterinarian wanted to make a living with sanctioned fights.

“They couldn’t understand why their daughter, who just graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA and an associate’s degree with aspirations of becoming a veterinarian, wanted to drop out of college to pursue a dream of getting punched in the face for a living,” said Robertson in an interview with Jupiter Mag.

Now, Robertson has done a fairly good job of establishing herself as one of the most appreciated strawweight fighters in the UFC. With nine wins by submission and three by KO, ‘The Savage’ is, no doubt, striving hard to make her stance strong in the Octagon. 

Speaking of her recent form, Robertson now stands on a four-fight winning streak. With a potential victory, she could probably get herself into title contention. And going against Amanda Lemos at UFC Vegas 114, Robertson might just send shockwaves through the MMA world.

That said, what do you think of Robertson’s heritage in Scotland? Let us know in the comments down below.