Welterweight champion Islam Makhachev puts his title on the line for the first time in the UFC 330 main event on August 15 against No. 2 ranked Ian Machado Garry.
Makhachev will enter the bout at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia as the top ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world and a heavy betting favorite. Most predict the champion will retain the title but former middleweight champion Chris Weidman sees a path to victory for “The Future.”
“The best thing that he’s got going for him is he’s not afraid of have a boring fight. He’s not afraid to footwork nonstop. He has no problem running from you the whole damn time, just touching and jabbing at you,” Weidman said of Machado Garry on Deep Waters.
“I think that’s the best chance he has, though, is to run and frustrate Islam into opening up, taking bad shots, bad takedown offense, also, you know, throw bad strikes on the feet because you’re overreaching.
“Islam is used to dominating. He wants to go in there and just take him down, submit him, or beat him up on the feet. And if this fight is just slow and it’s boring, I think Islam will make some mistakes.”
Makhachev won the 170-pound championship in his welterweight debut in November defeating Jack Della Maddalena in a one-sided fight. It’s been more than a decade since Makhachev suffered the lone loss in his career. He’s currently tied for the longest win streak in UFC history with 16.