Islam Makhachev’s first welterweight title defense is official, with the Dagestani set to face Ian Garry in the main event of UFC 330. The blockbuster matchup, which had been the subject of intense speculation for days, was recently confirmed by the UFC and will headline the August 15 card at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena. Garry, meanwhile, has made it clear that he believes he has the tools to shock the MMA world and become the first fighter to defeat Makhachev since 2015.
The Irish contender recently laid out his ideal blueprint for dethroning the champion during his Matchroom Talent Agency signing press conference. Rather than looking for an early finish, Garry said he wants to dominate Makhachev over several rounds before securing a statement victory in the fourth.
He said, “Me, my ideal scenario, I want a fourth-round finish. I don’t want any early knockout, because then there’s ifs, buts, maybes, there’s excuses. I want four rounds of domination, and in that fourth round, I’m going to tell everybody, I’m going to do it now, and then I’m going to go in, and I’m going to finish him. I’m going to open the door, I’m going to walk him into my traps and then take his head clean off his shoulders.”
😯🏆 Ian Machado Garry DOESN’T want to finish Islam Makhachev early, he wants a 4th round KO to eliminate any ‘ifs, buts and maybes’
“My ideal scenario? I want a 4th round finish. I don’t want any early knockout, because then there’s ifs, buts and maybes, and excuses.
I want…
— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 30, 2026
However, Garry’s bold prediction has drawn criticism from former two-division UFC champion Daniel Cormier, who believes the Irishman may be setting himself up for disappointment with such lofty expectations. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Cormier argued that Garry should focus on winning the fight rather than envisioning a specific type of victory.
He said, “Sometimes, a person is misguided in their thoughts, and when they’re misguided in their thoughts, they set themselves up for a very, very bad night or a bad result. I’m not saying Ian Garry cannot beat Islam Makhachev. What I’m saying is you’ve got to take that as it comes. You can’t try to say, ‘I want to beat the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world in a certain round because I don’t want it to be a fluke.”
Cormier went on to explain that against a fighter of Makhachev’s caliber, the manner of victory is irrelevant. In his view, defeating arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the sport would be a career-defining achievement regardless of whether it comes by knockout, submission, or decision.
He added, “If you win, it does not matter how you win. I would encourage him to let go of the idea that you want to call your shot, and you call your shot later in the fight, so that people don’t have an opinion of what happened. It doesn’t matter what happens if you beat the best fighter in the world across all weight classes pound-for-pound. It doesn’t matter how you win. It only matters that you win. And if Ian Garry wins by a fast knockout, if Ian Garry wins by submission, or if Ian Garry wins by a decision, it doesn’t matter.”
Garry’s confidence is undeniable, but predicting a finish against Makhachev is a bold call given his recent track record. The Irishman hasn’t recorded a stoppage victory since finishing Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Charlotte in May 2023. Since then, most of his wins have come on the judges’ scorecards, with nine of his 17 professional victories and seven of his 10 UFC wins ending in decisions.
Still, Garry has done enough to earn his shot. He heads into UFC 330 with a 10-1 UFC record, with his only defeat coming against the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov in December 2024. Even in that loss, Garry accomplished something no previous opponent had managed: he became the first fighter to go the distance with the Kazakh phenom and avoid being finished.
Since then, Garry has only strengthened his case as a legitimate title challenger by picking up consecutive wins over Carlos Prates and former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. Those performances have put him on the doorstep of UFC gold, but the task in front of him is easily the toughest of his career. Makhachev is widely regarded as the best fighter in the sport today and sits atop the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings.
The Dagestani champion is riding a remarkable 16-fight winning streak, tying Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history, and hasn’t lost a fight since 2015. He also left behind one of the greatest lightweight legacies in UFC history, setting the divisional record with four successful title defenses while defeating elite names such as Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier, and Renato Moicano. After clearing out the lightweight division, Makhachev vacated the 155-pound title in pursuit of a second championship.
He achieved that goal at UFC 322, defeating Jack Della Maddalena by dominant five-round unanimous decision to capture the welterweight belt. Garry has every reason to believe he can pull off the upset after the run he’s put together over the past year. But backing up his prediction of a fourth-round finish is another matter entirely, as he’ll be standing across from one of the most accomplished and dominant champions the UFC has ever seen.
Kshitiz Kumar Singh is a UFC Writer at NY Fights with over three years of experience in sports journalism and content creation. Known for his sharp storytelling and passion for combat sports, he has written in-depth features on stars like Brock Lesnar, Randy Couture, and Ilia Topuria. Before joining NY Fights, Kshitiz worked as a UFC Editor at EssentiallySports while currently serving as a WWE Editor at FirstSportz. His admiration for legends like Georges St-Pierre continues to inspire his detailed and engaging MMA coverage. Whether he’s covering the Octagon or the squared circle, Kshitiz is committed to delivering accurate, high-quality content. Outside the world of sports, he’s a dedicated cinephile, often found practicing monologues from his favorite Al Pacino films, combining his love for cinema with storytelling.