Islam Makhachev walked out of Philadelphia with the welterweight belt still around his waist, but not everyone watching UFC 330 came away convinced that 170 lbs (77 kg) is where he belongs.
The champion defended his title for the first time against Ian Machado Garry in a five-round main event that swung on grappling exchanges and a handful of exciting striking flurries from the Irishman.
Garry had his moments in the championship rounds too, opening round five with a right hand and a high kick of his own. But Makhachev found a takedown with half the final round left, took Garry’s back, locked in a body triangle and rode it out to the final horn. The judges scored it 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, all in Makhachev’s favor, closing the book on a game challenger who simply couldn’t solve the champion’s wrestling for long enough stretches of the bout.
It was a clear win on the scorecards, but the manner of it reopened a conversation that has followed Makhachev since he left the lightweight division behind. During the broadcast, UFC commentator Joe Rogan pointed out just how differently Makhachev’s bouts have looked since he moved up in weight.
“He’s bigger, stronger guys now. Look at what he did to Justin Gaethje. Look at what he did to Dustin Poirier. Look at what he did to Charles Oliveira. I mean, even Moicano, it was like a round. Just crushes him when he gets on top of that. This is the difference between him at 155 and him at 170. I understand what he wants to do, and I understand that he wants it, but man, if I was in his corner, it’s hard. I’ll be like, maybe. It’s hard to tell a man that.”
Rogan wasn’t the only voice raising the question. Khamzat Chimaev, competing at RAF, was asked for his impression of the main event and didn’t hold back on where he thinks Makhachev’s dominance truly lives.
“A confident victory. Islam did his job. It happened with Ian Garry, it happened. Ian Garry is tall and awkward to (face). Islam doesn’t compete at 70 kg. I thought that if they competed at 70 kg, Islam would win. Maybe in the future he’ll gain weight, I would be glad to see that.”
The framing lines up with what Rogan floated in the booth: at lightweight, Makhachev’s résumé reads like a list of finishes against the division’s best, while his run at welterweight, wins over Jack Della Maddalena and now Garry, has been built more on rounds and decisions than knockouts and taps. Garry’s size and length gave Makhachev a much tougher, longer look than most of what he faced at 155 lbs (70 kg), and Chimaev’s read is that the added weight and reach Garry carries at welterweight were exactly what kept the bout from ending early.
None of that takes the belt off Makhachev, who now has two titles and a claim to being the pound-for-pound best MMA star on the roster. But the question Rogan raised live and Chimaev echoed afterward isn’t going away quietly: are welterweights simply too big for Makhachev?
