Islam Makhachev’s first welterweight title defense is set for UFC 330 against top contender Ian Machado Garry.
On Wednesday, the UFC announced that Makhachev (28-1) will fight Garry (17-1) in the Aug. 15 main event at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, with strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern (16-5) defending her title against Gillian Robertson (17-8) in the co-main event.
Makhachev won the welterweight title with a dominant decision win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322. He previously held the UFC lightweight
title, successfully defending it a record four consecutive times before vacating it and moving up to 170 pounds. Since suffering his lone loss in 2015, Makhachev has won 16 straight fights.
This is a wish come true for Garry, who has been campaigning for the Makhachev bout to become official amid frequent rumors that he would be his first challenger. “The Future” began his career 15-0 before losing a decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov, but has rebounded with back-to-back wins over former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad and Carlos Prates.
Dern earned the opportunity to battle for a vacant strawweight title following champion Zhang Weili’s exit to pursue a fight with flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko. In Zhang’s absence, Dern defeated Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 this past October to claim the championship.
Her first defense will be against Canada’s Robertson, a former flyweight who is 6-1 since dropping down to the 115-pound division. Robertson has won five straight fights, most recently outpointing one-time title challenger Amanda Lemos in March.
