Makhachev vs Garry: One Win From UFC's Longest Winning Streak

Islam Makhachev walks into UFC 330 on Saturday sitting on 16 consecutive UFC wins — exactly level with Anderson Silva for the longest streak in company history. One more, against welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry in the main event, and the welterweight champ and former lightweight king stands alone. MMA Fighting's pound-for-pound No. 1 doesn't get many chances to make a record his own. This is one of them.

Garry isn't a charity opponent handed a number. The Irishman is 10-1 in the UFC since debuting in 2021, with wins over former titleholder Belal Muhammad (24-6) and top-ranked Carlos Prates, who's since climbed to No. 2 at 170 pounds. Garry has been telling anyone who'll listen that he's a future champion, and love him or loathe him, the résumé backs the swagger.

Why the Upset Talk Has Legs — and Why It Probably Doesn't Matter

Size, length and a maddening ability to control distance make Garry a genuinely awkward night's work. He only needs to point-fight his way through three of five rounds to steal a decision, and we've seen fighters neutralize better strikers than him. The problem is trust: it's hard to picture Garry doing enough damage to seriously hurt Makhachev, and every wayward kick or overextended punch is an invitation for Makhachev's wrestling.

That wrestling remains the trump card. Makhachev is arguably the best defensive fighter in the sport right now, so Garry won't get to snipe away for free. He'll have to walk forward, and forward is exactly where Makhachev wants him. Expect Garry to survive to the scorecards, collect his moral victory, and lose the fight that actually counts.

The co-main is nearly as loaded. Mackenzie Dern makes the first defense of the strawweight belt she claimed vacant after Zhang Weili left the division chasing a second title at 125. Dern's jiu-jitsu is elite, but the knock on her has always been output — beautiful setups, not enough attacking when a submission isn't there.

Robertson's Path and a Canadian Storyline

Gillian Robertson is only the fourth Canadian woman to fight for a UFC belt, following Alexis Davis, Valerie Letourneau and Felicia Spencer. No Canadian has held UFC gold since Georges St-Pierre, so history is on the table here too. Robertson's route is counterintuitive: don't trade with Dern, grapple with her, take top position and refuse to let the champion dictate terms. If she stands and Dern lands clean, it gets ugly fast.

Elsewhere on the card, the matchmakers found their sense of humor pairing the towering Jalin Turner with leg-kick specialist Kaue Fernandes, aka 'The Lumberjack.' Turner is a finisher through and through — all 15 of his wins have come by knockout or submission — which means one bad read from Fernandes and the joke's on him. Doors open early: the prelims run from 5:30 p.m. ET, with the main card at 9 p.m. ET on Paramount+.