Belal Muhammad could see Islam Makhachev submitting Ian Machado Garry late

Belal Muhammad is familiar with both UFC 330 headliners. Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) makes his first welterweight title defense against Ian Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) Saturday (Paramount+) at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Muhammad lost a unanimous decision to Machado Garry at UFC Fight Night 265, and has trained with Makhachev previously. Makhachev is a dominant force on the ground, but can he hang with Machado Garry on the feet? Muhammad broke down what the champion must do to get Machado Garry off his game. "Islam is very good. He's very good everywhere," Muhammad said on his YouTube channel. "He's smart, and they usually come in with a good game plan. So I think with Islam, it's all about cutting the cage off – cutting the cage off, making Garry uncomfortable on his back foot, closer to the fence, and I think eventually, it will wear on Garry. Garry is very good at sticking and moving, running, keeping the fight at a very slow pace. I think he does that because he knows he gets tired. He knows he gets gassed. He doesn't have one-punch knockout power, so he'll stick and move, stick and move, make you frustrated, and he doesn't care if it's just a boring fight. He doesn't care if it's a slow fight. He doesn't care if the crowd is booing. "He knows if he's hitting and not getting hit, he's winning. So for Islam, you've got to cut the cage off. And when you enter, it has to be off of combos. Garry is very good at countering off of one punch. He'll wait for that one punch, lean back, come with a 1-2 or come with a cross over the top. He's taller, so he sees a lot. And when he kicks, he goes for that low kick, calf kick. I think he's going to be attacking your lead leg since you're southpaw-orthodox. He's going to be doing that stomp kick on there, so just lifting that knee up, checking it, picking it up, and then closing the distance when he does that. If you stay out of kicking range with him, it frustrates him." Although Machado Garry stuffed all seven of Muhammad's takedowns in their fight, the former UFC welterweight champion thinks Makhachev's ground game will eventually overwhelm the Irishman. "I'm going with Islam," Muhammad said. "I think it will be a longer fight. I don't think it will be an early finish. I think it will probably go to the fourth and fifth round, and if Garry was getting away the first three rounds, I could see him getting finished in the fifth. I could see a sub coming from Islam. I don't think it's going to be on the feet for long, I do think Islam will get a couple of takedowns so, I'm going with Islam." This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Belal Muhammad could see Islam Makhachev submitting Ian Machado Garry late