The UFC travelled to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, known as the City of Brotherly love for the first time since 2019 for this past Saturday’s UFC 330.
The 12-fight card was headlined by an exciting double feature of title fights. In the co main event, Mackenzie Dern successfully completed her first title defense, thwarting Gillian Robertson. And in the main event, double champion, Islam Makhachev retained his title at welterweight with his unaimous decision victory over Ian Machado Garry. The title fights were the only bouts of the five on the main card to last till the final bell. Two finishes earned performance bonuses on the main card, and a legend of the sport officially called it a career.
Ian Macado Garry
(CHP) Islam Makhachev won all but a round in his unanimous decision win over (#2) Ian Macahado Garry to retain the 170lbs. belt on Saturday. The loss was just the second of Ian’s twelve-fight, five-year UFC stint. Garry is now 2-2 in his last four fights since December of 2024. His other loss came to Shavkat Rakhmonov and he’s defeated Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad within this time period.
Ian’s next fight should be against the loser of Sean Brady vs. Gabriel Bonfim. That fight goes down on November 7th, so the timing wouldn’t be the best. Brady is 9-2 with the UFC since being signed in 2019. Brady has lost to Belal Muhammad in 2022 and was finished by Michael Morales last November. Sean is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Joaquin Buckley in his most recent fight back in May.
Bonfim is 7-1 with the UFC since being signed off the 2022 season of the Contender Series. Gabriel’s only loss is a 2023 fight of the night opposite of Nicolas Dalby in 2023. Bonfim has won five in a row since that loss, including his most recent fight, a unanimous decision victory over Belal Muhammad, in June. Giving the loser of this bout Garry makes a lot of sense as both will be coming off losses but after ascending near the top of the division.
Great backup here would be a rematch against Shavkat Rakhmonov. The pair fought in 2024 and Shavkat has been out due to injury since that bout. Shavkat has completely slid out of the welterweight rankings due to inactivity. But Garry took Rakhmonov to the first decision of his career. And Rakhmonov handed Garry the first loss of his career. Excellent one to run back if Shavkat is ready and the timing works out before the end of the year.
Garry’s next fight: Loser of (#5) Sean Brady vs. (#6) Gabriel Bonfim or Shavkat Rakhmonov II
Gillian Robertson
(CHP) Mackenzie Dern almost turned in a flawless performance on Saturday with her five round unanimous decision victory over (#4) Gillian Robertson to retain the UFC strawweight title. Robertson looked completely outgunned but was able to keep herself from being submitted. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak dating back to mid 2023. Robertson’s record with the UFC now falls to 14-7.
Gillian’s next fight should be against Fatima Kline. Fatima is 4-1 with the UFC since being signed in 2024. After losing her promotional debut to Jasmine Jasudavicius, she’s defeated Victoria Dudakova, Melissa Martinez, Angela Hill and most recently, Tabatha Ricci. In her most recent bout, a unanimous decision shut out against Ricci, Fatima was originally supposed to take on Amanda Ribas. She’s clearly ascending and a fight against the most recent title challenger could do some heavy lifting for Fatima. On the opposite side a matchup like this for Robertson could be exactly what she needs to bounce back mentally after a performance like the one she turned in Saturday.
Robertson’s next fight: (#6) Fatima Kline
Kaue Fernandes
Jalin Turner took just seconds to flatten Kaue Fernandes on the main card of UFC 330 on Saturday. A devastating loss for Kaue that snaps his three-fight win streak which featured two finishes. (Mohammad Yahya, Guram Kutateladze, Harry Hardwick) Kaue is now 3-2 with the UFC since being signed in 2023.
Kaue’s next fight should be against Billy Quarantillo. Pulling this matchup from a previous edition of losers. This fight could be a real sleeper as both fighters throw caution to the wind and have few fights that go the distance. Billy is 6-6 with the UFC since coming off the 2019 season of the Contender Series. His last fight was on August 8th so the timing would work great. Billy recently moved up to the lightweight division and has struggled recently, as he’s 1-3 in his last four bouts. This could easily be one of those competitive action-packed fights, and it’d do some more lifting for Fernandes as Billy is a name within the promotion at this point.
Fernandes’s next fight: Billy Quarantillo
Mansur Abdul-Malik
Dustin Stoltzfus turned in a gritty, hard fought victory on Saturday as he battered and submitted Mansur Abdul-Malik late in the second round. Mansur Abdul-Malik is now 3-2-1 with the UFC since being signed off of the 2024 season of the Contender Series. Abdul-Malik is now riding a two-fight losing streak and has been finished in both appearances. In the fight prior to Saturday’s, he suffered his first loss back in March to Yousri Belgaroui via third round stoppage.
Mansur was and still is a budding prospect. But some of the wind has been taken from his sails now. A good next fight for Abdul-Malik would be against Eric McConico. Eric fought on the undercard of UFC 330 and was KO’d in the first round by the undefeated Donte Johnson. Eric is 2-3 with the UFC since being signed in 2025. He’s been very busy and has wins against Cody Brundage and Rodolfo Vieira. Brundage also faced Mansur and though the two originally fought to a majority decision in favor of Cody, it was overturned to a draw. Brundage took on Eric in his next fight. These two are on similar levels right now and would benefit from scrapping each other. There are plenty of fighters around this level at middleweight but because of the timing, this might end up being the fight matchmakers target next.
Abdul-Malik’s next fight: Eric McConico
Edson Barboza
Esteban Ribovics had little trouble with finishing veteran Edson Barboza to kick off the main card of UFC 330 on Saturday. The end didn’t come until the second round, but the 40-year-old 16-year veteran of the UFC was on his back foot the whole fight. Barboza took to the center of the octagon at the end of the fight to tearfully announce his retirement from the sport with his family by his side. Barboza ends his career on a four-fight win streak and an 18-15 promotional record spanning two weight classes. Edson will be remembered fondly by fans for taking on some of the scariest competitors in the sport, his dynamic kicks and one of the scariest and most impressive knockouts of all time.
Barboza’s next fight: Retirement
