With UFC 330 behind us, it’s easy to pick apart what was a very entertaining card for the most part. Most of the nitpicking to be done is really about matchmaking, being honest, such as “why on earth was Barboza vs. Ribovics even booked?” and “was Gillian Robertson truly ready for that title shot?”
Yet there’s much more to take away from the promotion’s return to Philadelphia for the first time since 2019. From Islam Makhachev looking less dominant at a higher weight, to Din Thomas’s massive post-fight misstep, here’s five takeaways from the City of Brotherly love.
Islam Makhachev won’t be as dominant at welterweight as he was at 155
Stating the obvious here: Islam Makhachev will not have the run at welterweight that he did at 155lbs. In fact, I suspect he’ll lose the UFC’s 170lb title within a fight or two. Weight classes exist for a reason, and Ian Machado Garry was in the UFC 330 main event from start to finish. He lost it, without question, but he gave Makhachev more trouble than expected, especially with takedown defense.
Makhachev, and his teammates in the Nurmagomedov camp, have always dominated on the ground. Basically rag-dolling guys there. And the odd time they haven’t been able to, their striking has always been “good enough” on the feet (Usman Nurmagomedov might be the best of the bunch on the feet, but we’re yet to see him in the UFC). Yet up a weight class, 15lbs higher, it’s clear Islam may run into trouble in the one area he has excelled at. Garry was able to scramble and scoot his way to the fence more than once, and get away from Makhachev. He was able to stuff a few other takedown attempts.
Some of the promotion’s larger welterweights may suddenly see a path to victory. Makhachev no longer looks, to borrow from Ian Garry, who borrowed it from Thanos, “inevitable.”
It may be time for Gillian Robertson to move on
Not from the UFC, nor MMA. But from coach Din Thomas.
I’ve interviewed Gillian several times in the past, especially during her run at flyweight and ahead of her first bout at strawweight in the UFC. As a fellow Canadian who lives not far from her home town, Robertson’s rise has been inspiring. She’s also super nice as an individual (honestly, in my experience most fighters are, but who knows, maybe they’re just hoping I write nice things about them. Hey, it worked!).
So seeing coach Thomas announce following her loss to Mackenzie Dern (and by that, pretty much immediately following, on the UFC 330 post-fight show), that he was retiring from cornering while suggesting that Robertson had hit her ceiling was downright heartbreaking. And cold. The body was still warm, Din. What the hell?!?
This may be a byproduct of having someone doing corner work and broadcast work on the same card. Maybe the UFC should put a blanket ban on that. Because emotions can run high for coaches when their fighter doesn’t perform as expected. But the wording in this case was just beyond depressing.
“I do have an announcement for you guys,” Thomas said during Saturday’s UFC 330 post-fight show (h/t MMA Junkie). “I told myself I would continue to do this until I took Gillian as far as she could go. I think that might be as far as she can go, and I am officially retiring from cornering fighters tonight.”
He’d then add “It’s just I told myself that I would do this with her. I would see her journey out and take her as far as I think she can go, and this might be as far as she can go.”
Robertson has never had anything but kind words for Thomas that I’ve heard, and she’s been with him since before she turned pro. It might be time for her to move on from his tutelage. Robertson actually won the fifth round on Saturday, but in the end she simply ran into a better grappler than herself (Mackenzie Dern is a world-class, multi-time jiu-jitsu champion, after all), and her striking has never been her strong suit, meaning she was out-worked on her feet as well. Suggesting that, at 31, she’s hit her ceiling, is a bit much however. Especially doing it publicly.
Does the UFC have a celebrity problem?
The UFC doesn’t just have a star power problem at the moment — it seems to have a celebrity guest problem as well.
Earlier this year, UFC CEO and President Dana White blasted his own production crew for being incredibly poor at identifying celebrities in the audience. Yet what happens if no celebs even show up?
Mark Wahlberg was a big part of the UFC 330 broadcast on Saturday, a Philly native and the biggest local draw on the card, given the only Philly fighter was Jeremiah Wells. Keep in mind, ol’ Marky Mark at one point owned a minority stake in the promotion. He may still, honestly keeping track of the lives and investments of celebrities is rather boring and not my forte whatsoever. Either way, Wahlberg has long been associated with the company, and TKO Group parent Endeavour.
Yet when it came time for the broadcast to show what famous folks were in the audience, they had to include none other than Chris Weidman and Paul Felder.
Showing current and former UFC stars is nothing new for UFC broadcasts, but Weidman and Felder were working the desk on Saturday, part of the pre- and post-show festivities. Their inclusion was simply embarrassing. In essence an admission that “not enough important or famous people bothered to show up.”
Maybe it was a one-off, but you have to wonder. As someone who abhors politics I try to stay out of pointless left/right battles, but the UFC itself has openly courted the political right in recent times. Look no further than UFC Freedom 250 at the White House. A cool as all get-out card visually and stunning in terms of entertainment value, the only knock on it was that instead of celebrating America’s birthday, it was used to celebrate the birthday of its current President, Donald Trump.
The UFC has its share of famous left-leaning or centrist fans, including Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who once called Trump “not a likeable person,” before adding “He’s a cartoon of a person.” And Maynard James Keenan of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer, the latter of whom use words like “deplorable,” “idiot,” and “drongo” (get out your Australian slag guide) in a thinly-veiled attack on the President in Self Evident. Oh, and a “walking, talking skid mark.”
You have to wonder if certain celebs are becoming wary of being associated with the promotion. Luckily, they can fill the broadcast with paid employees.
