UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev will make the first defense of his 170-pound title when he tangles with No. 1-ranked Ian Garry atop the upcoming UFC 330 fight card on Paramount+, scheduled for Sat., Aug. 15, 2026 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Garry is the betting underdog for their five-round showdown, so why are Islam fans starting to panic?
“The truth is, I have this feeling in my heart that they know I’m the trickiest opponent for them,” Garry told Ariel Helwani.
“That’s why the champion of the world, one of the most dominant athletes we’ve ever seen, called out Kamaru Usman to defend his world title fight against. Does that make sense? He knows I’m long, I’m tall. I’m fast. I’m rangy. I understand distance management and control. I don’t get hit very well. It’s never clean, it’s never connected.”
Garry absorbs just 2.86 significant strikes per minute and avoids 52% of incoming fire. By comparison, Makhachev is hit with just 1.45 significant strikes per minute and defends 61% of blows coming his way. No doubt part of that success comes from his punishing top control.
Garry defends 80% of all takedown attempts.
“I’m tricky on the feet, I’m tricky on the ground,” Garry added. “I’m hard to touch, I’m hard to control. I’m hard to predict what I’m going to do. I’m hard to read. All of those are elite, stand up, and grappling skills. So, from my point of view, there is nobody in this division, that is a trickier matchup, for Islam Makhachev. I’m 6’3” — I’m long, I’m tall, I’m beautiful. I know how to use my hands, my feet. I know how to stop the takedown. I stopped 15 of 17 takedowns from Shavkat (Rakhmonov) and Belal (Muhammad). I know what I’m doing in this sport.”
Shavkat was 2 for 10 on takedown attempts (UFC 310) compared to 0 for 7 for Belal (UFC Qatar).
Makhachev (28-1) surrendered his 155-pound title and moved up to welterweight to capture the crown from Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 last fall. He’s currently tied with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva at 16 for longest win streak in UFC history. As for Garry (17-1), he rebounded from a decision loss to the still-injured Shavkat to win back-to-back fights over ranked contender Carlos Prates and the aforementioned Muhammad.
To see who else is fighting at UFC 330 in August click here.
