Final Preventing Championship has formally introduced Islam Makhachev’s subsequent struggle.
Makhachev defended his light-weight belt 4 instances earlier than shifting as much as welterweight final yr. In his debut at 170 kilos at UFC 322, he simply defeated Jacques Della Maddalena, becoming a member of the UFC’s record of two-division champions and in addition reclaiming the pound-for-pound title.
There have been rumors just lately that he may face Michael Morales. However the UFC had different plans.
As introduced by Dana White on The Pat McAfee Present, Islam Makhachev is scheduled to face Ian Machado-Galley at UFC 330 on August fifteenth in Philadelphia.
See the official announcement beneath.
UFC 330 will likely be Islam Makhachev’s first try and defend his welterweight title.
Ian Machado Garry, the No. 1 contender within the UFC 170-pound division, is at present on a two-fight win streak. Taking a sudden danger, he defeated Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad final yr earlier than calling out the Dagestan wrestling large.
Garry additionally went to Georgia to hone his wrestling expertise to assist put together for the match towards Makhachev.
For the previous few months, “The Future” has been calling out the 34-year-old champion nonstop. The Irishman was uninterested in inactivity, and now he’ll lastly get what he needs and rightfully deserves.
Islam Makhachev initially needed to struggle the legendary Kamaru Usman subsequent. Nevertheless, Usman is now rumored to face Drix du Plessis in July.
The 2-division UFC champion has additionally expressed curiosity in a struggle with undefeated welterweight challenger Michael Morales, who has additionally incessantly referred to as him out.
However now the stage is about for Gary to show whether or not his coaching camp in Georgia gave him the instruments he wanted to dethrone Makhachev.
Ian Machado Garry enters the struggle with an expert file of 17 wins and 1 loss. His solely loss got here by unanimous determination at UFC 310 in 2024 when he locked horns with former coaching accomplice Shavkat Rakhmonov.
In the meantime, Islam Makhachev enters UFC 330 with an expert file of 28 wins and 1 loss. The present welterweight champion and former light-weight titleholder is on a 16-fight successful streak. His solely profession loss got here in 2015 when he was knocked out by Adriano Martins.
