Matt Brown comments on Din Thomas' post-fight retirement announcement
UFC veteran Matt Brown said Din Thomas' decision to announce his retirement from cornering fighters immediately after Gillian Robertson's loss was poorly timed, though he declined to pass final judgment without more information.
Gillian Robertson was defeated by Mackenzie Dern via unanimous decision at UFC 330, after being taken down repeatedly and nearly submitted. Following the bout, her longtime coach Din Thomas appeared on a post-fight broadcast and announced his retirement from coaching, adding that the loss might represent the limit of Robertson’s career.
Thomas later issued an apology, describing his remarks as "despicable." On the podcast The Fighter vs. The Writer, UFC veteran Matt Brown, who now coaches fighters at his own gym, said the timing of Thomas' comments was inappropriate.
"I don’t know what their relationship is, so it’s hard to speak on how I’d feel about it. It seemed like odd timing. I don’t know Din, but it seemed odd to make it about himself in that situation. You should just talk about the fight. You’re an analyst. Talk about the fight and what happened in the fight and leave it at that," Brown said.
Brown emphasized that his own coaching approach prioritises the fighter-coach relationship over business considerations, and he would never abandon a fighter after a tough loss.
"I didn’t think it was really necessary. You should have saved it for later. The way that he did it, I’m not a fan of," he added.
He also suggested that Thomas might have been attempting to take responsibility for Robertson’s performance, noting that a coach sometimes feels compelled to step aside if a fighter does not follow the game plan.
"Maybe that’s what he meant by that. I’ve done as much as I can do, you need to get a better coach," Brown said.
Brown concluded that while coaching at the UFC level is demanding, making a public announcement in the wake of a fighter’s hardest loss was an unnecessary “low blow.”