At this point in his career, Islam Makhachev is fighting for legacy.
Already considered the pound-for-pound best fighter active today, Makhachev left the lightweight division behind last year and moved north to welterweight, dethroning Jack Della Maddalena to become a champion at a second weight class.
Gone, apparently, are the UFC’s champ-champ days, but it’s worth noting that Makhachev easily could have been one of those. There were still compelling fights for him at 155lbs, including Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, but Makhachev had already broken the UFC record for consecutive title defenses in the weight class.
Finally, Makhachev has established himself in his own right, out from under the shadow of Khabib Nurmagomedov, his teammate turned coach. Whenever the Dagestani chooses to call it a career, in fact, he may be looked at as the more accomplished fighter. Certainly, the second title speaks to that.
Ian Machado Garry, the man Makhachev looks to defend his 170lb title against at UFC 330, has been on the rise for a while now. When he arrived in the UFC several years back, the comparisons to fellow Irish star Conor McGregor were obvious. What differed was the style, and while Garry is himself outspoken, he’s avoided many of the pitfalls of fame thus far.
Yet what Garry hasn’t done is held gold. He faltered against Shavkat Rakmonov, and is just two fighters removed from that welterweight title eliminator, his first and only loss. Now, he has a very tough test ahead, with welterweight swarming with highly touted fighters including Michael Morales, Rakmonov, Sean Brady, Gabriel Bonfim, former champ Maddalena, and others.
The UFC 330 co-main event is no less interesting. Mackenzie Dern capitalized on Weili Zhang vacating her title in a failed bid to claim flyweight gold. Now, Dern looks to defend her 115lb championship for the first time, when she faces Canadian Gillian Robertson. “The Savage” has taken the long road to the title and holds the UFC submissions record for women. She’s also tied for finishes among women, alongside Amanda Nunes. Yet Dern is a BJJ world champion several times over, making this a very interesting fight should it go to the ground, which seems likely.
Our picks for UFC 330 are in! Here’s how we see it all playing out!
| Writer / Fight | Barboza vs. Ribovics | Abdul-Malik vs. Stoltzfus | Turner vs. Fernandes | Dern vs. Robertson | Makhachev vs. Garry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Cagle (103-43) |  |  |  |  |  |
| Patrick Danna (82-35) | | | |  | |
| Mathis Desjardins (92-41) | | | | | |
| Alex Behunin (97-47) | | | | | |
| Jay Anderson (95-55) | | | | | |
| Eddie Law (91-59) | | | | |  |
| Chris Prawdzik (50-33) | | | | | |
Jalin Turner, Esteban Ribovics, and Mansur Abdul-Malik were all landslide picks among our crew. Islam Makhachev and Mackenzie Dern are expected to retain, but at least a couple of staff members sided with the challenger in both cases.
