UFC 330: Is Islam Makhachev the Greatest to Ever Do It?
- Javier Albite
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
By Javier Albite
UFC 330: Makhachev vs. Machado Garry was this past Saturday in Philadelphia, and the main topic surrounding the event was Islam Makhachev's record-breaking win over Ian Machado Garry. Makhachev now holds the UFC record with 17 consecutive wins. In addition, some controversy arose around the disappointing card, with many fans calling it possibly the worst fight card of the year, but was it really that bad?
Background
In the months leading up to the event, UFC 330 was under a lot of criticism for its lackluster card. Many fans had issues with the lack of ranked fights and star power, as well as the UFC not even locking the main card until the week before. Another huge issue was that fighters from Philly complained they weren't on their hometown card. For example, Joe Pyfer, originally scheduled to face Caio Borralho, had his entire bout scrapped after Borralho was injured. Instead of giving him a new opponent, the UFC decided to remove Pyfer from the card completely, causing controversy.
Main Card results
Esteban Ribovics (-750 favorite) def. Edson Barboza (+525 underdog) by Round 2 TKO
Up-and-comer Ribovics gets a solid comeback win, knocking out UFC veteran Barboza
Dustin Stoltzfus (+500 underdog) def. Mansur Abdul-Malik (-700 underdog) by Round 2 submission
Stoltzfus puts on a show, getting a huge upset win with his devastating finish on Abdul-Malik
Jalin Turner (-120 favorite) def. Kauê Fernandes (+100 underdog) by Round 1 KO
Turner delivers the Performance of the Night, knocking out Fernandes in less than 40 seconds
Mackenzie Dern (+210 favorite) def. Gillian Robertson (+180 underdog) by unanimous decision
Dern gets her first title defense with some entertaining grappling exchanges against Robertson
Islam Makhachev (-370 favorite) def. Ian Machado Garry (+270 underdog) by unanimous decision
Makhachev solidifies his reign in welterweight, even if the fight wasn't as entertaining as it could've been
Is Islam The GOAT Now?
With this win in Philadelphia, Islam Makhachev has now extended his win streak to 17, beating Anderson Silva's 16 wins for the record of the longest win streak in UFC history. Besides that, Makhachev has now become one of 5 fighters to win two belts and defend both. This has sparked debate on his legacy and whether he deserves to be called the greatest in MMA. I think what prevents him from being in the same conversations as someone like Jon Jones is his number of title defenses. While Makhachev has definitely had great competition throughout his career, Jones, for example, just completely outnumbers him. While Makhachev has beaten legends like Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski (twice), and Dustin Poirier, Jones' resume includes 12 title defenses across the span of 13 years. Among those defenses, Hall-of-Famers: Shogun Rua, Daniel Cormier (twice), Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort, and Alexander Gustafsson (twice). You could bring up the PED abuse and all of Jones' controversies outside the octagon, but to me, Makhachev isn't near that position yet.
What's Next?
Esteban Ribovics still has a pretty inconsistent record, so a fight against another up-and-coming unranked fighter like Tofiq Musayev would be fun.
Dustin Stoltzfus is building up to be an unusual prospect, I think matching him up against Brunno Ferreira could be exciting.
Jalin Turner put on easily the best performance of the night, and his striking and knockout power could be cool to watch against someone like King Green to break into the rankings.
Mackenzie Dern's performance was great, but I still think she needs to fight Zhang Weili to prove herself as strawweight champion; no one else in the division really comes close.
Islam Makhachev definitely proved himself against Ian Garry, but I feel that the size of these welterweights is a big problem for him. A matchup against Carlos Prates is the only real test I can see giving him.
Did you watch UFC 330?
yeah
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