A welterweight championship bout headlines the UFC 330 main event at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Champion Islam Makhachev puts his title on the line against No. 2 ranked contender Ian Machado Garry in the fight card’ main event.
Makhachev, the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, will enter the bout a heavy betting favorite with an opportunity to make history. If Makhachev emerges with the win, he’ll surpass Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history with 17. Former middleweight champion Michael Bisping predicts Makhachev will emerge from the octagon his his championship intact and the record holder.
“It’s going to be an exciting clash. Will Ian Garry be able to jab and jog his way to victory? Because that’ll be the game plan, let’s be honest. Or will Islam Makhachev take him down, rag doll him all over the place, choke him out unconscious and put him to sleep? We shall see,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel.
“Takedown defense 100-percent is what this fight’s all going to be about, and whether or not Islam Makhachev can cut off the cage, get him up against the fence, corral him against the fence, grab a leg, take him down. If he does, then it’s all over,” Bisping surmised. “But we know what Ian is going to do. He’s going to dance around. He’s going to pick him apart. He’s going to be on his bike, okay? Because he’s a smart guy.”
“When you look at Makhachev and how he rag dolls everyone when he gets ahold of them, or more importantly, when he gets the up against the fence. Sometime when he shoots out in the open, you can stuff those takedowns like Dustin Poirier. But when he gets you against the fence, wrestling on the fence is a very, very different thing. And if he does that, it’s going to be curtains for Ian Garry.”
“Islam Makhachev, this is his bread and butter. This is what he does. And when you go to the wall, he’s going to take your back and he’s going to put the hooks in and he’s going to choke you out. And that is my prediction for this fight.”