Islam Makhachev beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330 on Saturday, August 15, 2026, retaining the UFC welterweight championship and stretching his winning streak to 17 straight fights — the longest in UFC history. The mark he broke, 16 consecutive wins, belonged to retired middleweight great Anderson Silva, who built that streak starting in 2006. The streak follows a single loss earlier in Makhachev’s UFC career: his record in the promotion now stands at 18-1, with the last 17 of those 18 wins coming in a row.
Key facts
- Winner: Islam Makhachev, unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
- Event: UFC 330, Saturday, August 15, 2026
- Venue: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia (formerly the Wells Fargo Center before a 2025 renaming)
- Record: 17 straight UFC wins — the longest streak in UFC history, breaking Anderson Silva’s 16
- Makhachev’s UFC record: 18-1 (17-fight win streak)
- Title: First defense of the UFC welterweight championship
- Co-main event: Mackenzie Dern defeated Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision to retain the women’s strawweight title (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
How the fight unfolded
All three judges scored it the same way for Makhachev: 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. The bout was held at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, the arena formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center before a 2025 renaming. Makhachev dropped Garry with a head kick in the second round — his longtime corner coach, retired champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, was seen on his feet reacting to the knockdown — but Garry recovered and fought his way through the final horn rather than being finished.
Makhachev on the record
“I feel happy… Hard fight. It was good fight, good opponent,” Makhachev said afterward. “Now, it’s no more Anderson Silva. It’s Islam Makhachev’s record. I like this.” He added that his goal now is a 20-fight streak: “I think we’ve beaten all the records already. That’s why maybe making it a 20-fight win streak would be good.”
The handshake before the final round
A moment mid-fight became its own story. Garry shook Makhachev’s hand before the start of the fifth and final round.
UFC CEO Dana White criticized the gesture afterward as a lack of “killer instinct.” “If he had even an ounce of killer instinct, in that fifth round, you don’t come out and hug and shake hands,” White said, adding that Garry should have come out “with a flying knee and try to finish the fight.”
Makhachev pushed back on the idea that respect had cost either fighter anything. “This is not something we have to hug each other every round, you know? We’re going to war… He’s a good guy. Very kind. But this is the war… It’s not something you come to play. This is fight. Not some game,” he said.
Garry’s reaction
Garry posted on Instagram that the loss wouldn’t shake him and that he plans to keep fighting: “Tonight wasn’t my night, I feel great, I did great, Islam was just better than me tonight, and that’s okay… I’m gonna be back, I’m not gonna be disheartened by this, I’m bulletproof in my mind, I’ll be back. I’ve just fought arguably the greatest fighter we’ve ever seen in this sport. I pushed him to the f—- wire, and I’m so proud of myself and my team for everything we’ve done.” The loss dropped Garry’s record to a reported 17-2, snapping a two-fight winning streak of his own.
What’s next for Makhachev
This was Makhachev’s first defense of the welterweight title. He won the belt from Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision at UFC 322 in November 2025, months after giving up the lightweight championship he’d held for years to move up in weight. He currently holds only the welterweight title. Asked about a next fight, Makhachev said he’d like to face Carlos Prates, arguing Prates has stayed busier — including a win over Della Maddalena — than fellow contender Michael Morales. The UFC has not announced Makhachev’s next opponent or fight date.
Rest of the card
In the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern defeated Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision to retain the UFC women’s strawweight title — her first successful defense of that belt. The scorecards came back reading exactly like the main event’s: 49-46, 49-46, 48-47, all for Dern. Two different fights, the same scorecards.
Elsewhere on the main card:
- Jalin Turner needed just 39 seconds to knock out Kauê Fernandes with punches in the first round
- Dustin Stoltzfus submitted Mansur Abdul-Malik with a rear-naked choke at 4:25 of the second round
- Esteban Ribovics stopped Edson Barboza with punches in the second round — Barboza’s last fight. He announced his retirement afterward, closing out a UFC career that had spanned 16 years
The UFC handed out $100,000 performance bonuses to four fighters: Turner and Stoltzfus from the main card, plus prelim winners Charles Johnson and Jeremiah Wells. No Fight of the Night bonus was awarded.
Other preliminary-card results:
- Neil Magny defeated Ramiz Brahimaj by TKO (strikes) at 3:20 of the second round
- Lucas Fernando defeated Rafael Tobias by TKO (a knee to the body) at 1:10 of the third round
- Tresean Gore defeated Vicente Luque by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Donte Johnson knocked out Eric McConico with a left hand at 1:38 of the first round
- Chidi Njokuani defeated Joel Alvarez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Jeremiah Wells defeated Myktybek Orolbai by submission in the third round, one of the two prelim finishes that earned a $100,000 bonus
- Charles Johnson also won by submission in the third round, the other bonus-earning prelim finish
Sources and further reading
- THE OCTAGON RETURNS TO PHILADELPHIA WITH UFC 330
- UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry (event page)
- Main Card Results | UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry
- Islam Makhachev / Ian Machado Garry athlete profiles
- Official Scorecards | UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry
- Prelim Results | UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry