Islam Makhachev is still welterweight champion, but it wasn’t an easy night at the office for him as he was put to the test by a game Ian Machado Garry.
In the end, Makhachev used his elite wrestling—and one well-timed head kick—to outpoint Garry and earn a unanimous decision win in the UFC 330 main event Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. With the win, Makhachev breaks a tie with Anderson Silva for the most consecutive victories in UFC history at 17.
He also joins Henry Cejudo, Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, and Amanda Nunes as the only fighter to successfully defend UFC championships in two divisions after previously reigning as lightweight king.
While it was a disappointing night for Garry, he can hold his head high knowing he made Makhachev work for his latest title defense, and MMA personality Brendan Schaub even suggested he could have made a tactical tweak to put his performance over the top.
“Ian Garry would have won if he ate a steak,” Schaub wrote on Twitter.
See more pros reactions to the UFC 330 main event below.
Ian Garry would have won if he ate a steak. 🥩 #ufc330
— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) August 16, 2026
Islam won tonight no doubt but for the first time in a long time he looked human inside that octagon. Micheal Morales is gonna be a BIG problem. #ufc330
— Brendan Schaub (@BrendanSchaub) August 16, 2026
Keeping it real that was an impressive performance by Garry he kept it real close and looked like he could have got it done at times and it definitely makes Islam’s future matchups more interesting. Can see ian getting back to the top and getting it down in the future
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) August 16, 2026
This guy is cracker jacks
— Chael Sonnen (@ChaelSonnen) August 16, 2026
Who do you guys think Islam should fight next? 🤔 #UFC330
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) August 16, 2026
Garry says some weird stuff but man he’s a dawg #ufc330
— Billy Quarantillo (@BillyQMMA) August 16, 2026