Sean O'Malley smells an upset.
Ian Machado Garry is a big underdog against welterweight champion Islam Makhachev on Saturday in the UFC 330 headliner from Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia (Paramount+).
O'Malley agrees with UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall's analysis of the fight.
"I do think this is going to be one of Islam's toughest opponents," O'Malley said on his YouTube channel. "All those things he (Aspinall) mentioned: range, length, he just judges distance really well. (Machado Garry will) jab, back up, back up, he's not going to engage. He's not going to go sit in the pocket, plant his feet, throw a two-three-piece combination, let Islam get under him. It's going to be interesting."
Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) accused Machado
Garry of "running away" in his fights, and O'Malley thinks it's the footwork that will help Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) outpoint the champion.
"I do think there's going to be a point where he's frustrating Islam," O'Malley said. "He's popping him with the jab, and he's moving, he's circling, he's not engaging. He's hitting him with it. The crowd is booing. They're staying up until 5am to watch him, and he's punching and moving, but he's doing what he has to do.
"If he doesn't do that, he loses percentages to win the fight. I do think it's going to be a little bit of a punch-move, punch-move, don't engage too much. I think he's going to wrestle really well. I think he's going to not get his back pushed up against the fence. I think he's going to circle, find the center, shut down a couple takedowns."
While O'Malley thinks Makhachev's striking is underrated, he sees Machado Garry luring him into a lackluster affair and getting his hand raised.
"With that all said, he is vegan, so I don't know," O'Malley said. "Part of me thinks that Islam could just grab ahold of him and snap him in half like a f*cking zucchini, but I don't know. Final prediction: I think Ian Garry's going to win a decision. I don't think it's going to be the most exciting fight ever. I think there's going to be some good back-and-forths, but I do think Ian Garry is is going to get the job done."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O'Malley picks Ian Machado Garry to upset Islam Makhachev in snoozer
