Islam Makhachev is counting down the days to his first title defense as welterweight champion and he’s confident he’s ready for whatever Ian Machado Garry throws at him.
As he gets ready for UFC 330 on Aug. 15, Makhachev and his team relocated to New Jersey for final preparations as the Dagestan native seeks to build on his remarkable resume where he’s already a two-division champion and the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport. While he didn’t want to give away too many secrets, Makhachev is confident
enough to expose at least part of his game plan, which is based on scouting Garry and his tendency to hit and move constantly during his fight.
“His skills, I just have to run in this camp too much because I have to follow him,” Makhachev told MMA Fighting at Zuffa Boxing 9. “He runs too much. I know his game plan. We always see his fights.
“He has the same style always. I will try to catch him, take him down, just what I did with my old opponents.”
One potential advantage that Garry might have going into the fight is that he counts former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira as one of his main teammates and training partners. Of course, Oliveira faced Makhachev back in 2022, although he had a rough night at the office in their only encounter.
Makhachev scored an early knockdown on the Brazilian and eventually wrapped up a win with a nasty arm-triangle choke that forced Oliveira to tap out in the second round. That’s why the reigning UFC welterweight champion isn’t too concerned that Oliveira has any real knowledge to add to Garry’s strategy by the time they make it to UFC 330.
“Charles is going to teach him how to tap fast,” Makhachev joked. “That’s it.”
While Garry is well known for trash-talking his opponents, Makhachev clearly hasn’t been paying much attention because the fight is all business for him and nothing personal.
A potential storyline heading into fight week could be Garry trying to secure a measure of revenge for his native Ireland after two of his countrymen fell short going up against members of Makhachev’s camp in the past.
Makhachev’s coach and UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov famously dismantled Conor McGregor back in 2018 before securing a fourth-round submission win. Usman Nurmagomedov also did his part with a pair of wins over Paul Hughes in the PFL.
So truth be told, Makhachev doesn’t really see this as some kind of country vs. country rivalry, although he definitely knows the scoreboard thus far.
“This is just a regular opponent,” Makhachev said. “It’s nothing between countries. But still [we are] 2-0 now, it’s going to be 3-0.”
With training camp almost over, Makhachev promises he’s left no stone unturned and his team has put everything together necessary for him to make a successful title defense at UFC 330.
“Everything is going very well,” Makhachev said. “We stay in the same gym the last couple of fights. We stay in New Jersey and training at Nick Catone MMA, it’s a very nice gym. I have too many of my brothers and friends and sparring partners, almost all the team is here, we’re training together.
“Khabib is here. Javier [Mendez] is here. We’re training everyday very hard to be ready.”
