Islam Makhachev further cemented his status as the UFC’s pound-for-pound king by defending his welterweight title in impressive fashion, taking a unanimous decision against Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 headliner on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, giving Makhachev his 17th consecutive victory and moving him past Hall of Famer Anderson Silva’s previous UFC record of 16 straight wins, a run Silva put together between 2006 and 2013.
Makhachev, who improved to 29-1 in mixed martial arts, controlled the tempo for most of the 25-minute fight. He used suffocating top control and relentless chain wrestling to keep Garry on the defensive, while also mixing in striking, highlighted by a damaging head kick in the second round.
Garry, who was attempting to become just the second undisputed UFC champion from Ireland, showed toughness and solid defensive scrambling on the ground to avoid being finished. But the 17-2 contender could never generate enough offence on the feet or on the mat to change the scoring.
“I have nothing but respect for Islam. … He won. I have no complaints, no excuses,” Garry said inside the Octagon after the decision.
“It’s always hard,” Makhachev said when asked about grinding through the championship rounds.
Dern retains strawweight title with dominant grappling display
In the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern made the first successful defence of her UFC women’s strawweight title, beating Canada’s Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision. All three judges saw the bout 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, as Dern leaned on her elite grappling to control the action.
Dern, who was born in Phoenix and fights out of Southern California, spent much of the 25-minute fight on top, constantly hunting for submissions and threatening transitions against Robertson, a fellow Brazilian jiujitsu standout. The most dangerous moment came at the end of the opening round, when Dern nearly locked in a rear-naked choke just before the horn.
Despite saying during fight week that she expected to finish Robertson inside the distance, the 17-5 champion was satisfied with going the full five rounds.
“She’s good. … Thank you, everyone. I appreciate you,” Dern said inside the Octagon.
The UFC now heads west to Sacramento, California, for next Saturday’s Fight Night card. The five-round middleweight main event features Anthony Hernandez, who trains out of nearby El Dorado Hills, against Brazil’s Gregory Rodrigues. The bout will cap a 13-fight lineup.
The UFC now heads west to Sacramento, California, for next Saturday’s Fight Night card, where Anthony Hernandez will face Gregory Rodrigues in a five-round middleweight main event that caps a 13-fight lineup.
