UFC TONIGHT: Fight By Fight Preview | UFC 330: Makhachev vs Machado Garry

Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry

Co-Main Event: Mackenzie Dern vs Gillian Robertson

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena — Philadelphia, PA

Where to Watch: Paramount+ | How To Watch UFC 330 In Your Country

Other Main Card Matches:

• Charles Johnson vs Jose Ochoa
• Mansur Abdul-Malik vs Dustin Stoltzfus
• Edson Barboza vs Esteban Ribovics

Prelim Matches:

• Chidi Njokuani vs Joel Alvarez
• Jalin Turner vs Kaue Fernandes
• Donte Johnson vs Eric McConico
• Vicente Luque vs Tresean Gore
• Rafael Tobias vs Lucas Fernando
• Neil Magny vs Ramiz Brahimaj
• Jeremiah Wells vs Myktybek Orolbai

Welterweight Championship Main Event: Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry

Welterweight champ Islam Makhachev puts his title on the line for the first time against Irish contender Ian Machado Garry in what is a truly captivating championship main event.

Makhachev won the belt last November with a one-sided mugging of Jack Della Maddalena at Madison Square Garden, leaning on his elite grappling to ground and neutralize the Australian for five straight rounds, racking up 19 minutes of control time and limited Della to just 18 significant strikes landed. The victory made him a two-weight world champion and pushed his winning streak to 16, equaling Anderson Silva for the longest win streak in UFC history.

The challenger collected a pair of wins in 2025 to cement his case as the No. 1 contender, besting Carlos Prates over five rounds in April before doing the same to former champ Belal Muhammad over three frames in November. Despite his winning each of his last five fights on the scorecards, it’s difficult to argue against Machado Garry getting this opportunity given his strength of schedule and the easy marketability of this matchup.

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What is fascinating about this fight — at least to me — is the size difference between the two parties, as Makhachev is giving up four inches in height and reach to “The Future,” who has exhibited excellent takedown defense, sharp footwork and a keen understanding of how to effectively use his length to his advantage. That size difference lingers as a potential X-factor in this contest, and how it impacts the early interactions between the two is something to watch closely this weekend.

Women’s Strawweight Co-Main Event: Mackenzie Dern vs Gillian Robertson

The co-main event sees Mackenzie Dern put the strawweight title on the line for the first time against streaking challenger Gillian Robertson.

Dern claimed the vacant title last October in Abu Dhabi, rallying to defeat Virna Jandiroba after entering the championship rounds down on two of the three scorecards. A multiple-time world champion in Brazilian jiu jitsu and standout submission grappler, the 33-year-old champion has worked diligently to improve her striking during the course of her UFC career, showing marked improvement and dangerous power, as well as unquestioned heart and grit.

Fighting with a heavy heart following the passing of his teammate Allan Nascimento, Ochoa also has history with both Kavanagh and Almabayev, landing on the wrong side of the scorecards in competitive battles with each. In between those contests, the 25-year-old from Peru has posted a stoppage win over Cody Durden and a unanimous decision victory over Clayton Carpenter at UFC 328 in May to move to 9-2 overall.

Ochoa is another of the numerous promising, young talents looking to make waves in the 125-pound ranks, while Johnson owns a spot in the Top 15 and has been the most active fighter on the roster over the last four-plus years. This isn’t quite a “changing of the guard” bout, but it is a great opportunity to get a better read of where Ochoa stands in his development, while seeing if Johnson can once again get himself right back into the win column.

Mansur Abdul-Malik vs Dustin Stoltzfus

Mansur Abdul-Malik and Dustin Stoltzfus clash here in a battle between Dana White’s Contender Series graduates with Pennsylvania roots.

Abdul-Malik returns after suffering the first loss of his professional career last time out against Dutch dark horse Yousri Belgaroui. Prior to that, the Pittsburgh-born Season 8 alum had been lights out, logging stoppage wins over Dusko Todorovic, Nick Klein and Antonio Trocoli, and settling for a draw in a prematurely halted bout against Cody Brundage last summer.

After earning wins in four of five fights with a split decision loss in a barnburner against Nasrat Haqparast mixed in, Ribovics got a chance to claim a spot in the rankings earlier this year in a pairing with Mateusz Gamrot. Now, the DWCS Class of ’22 alum aims to make another hasty return to the win column while collecting the biggest victory of his career.

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This has all the makings of a barnburner as both men are allergic to being in a boring fight. Don’t believe me? Barboza has 10 Fight of the Night bonuses, good for second-most all-time along with Dustin Poirier, while Ribovics earned three straight prior to his loss to Gamrot.

Expect excitement from the outset.

Preliminary Card Pairings

Chidi Njokuani vs Joel Alvarez

Chidi Njokuani returns to action for the second time this year, looking to halt a two-fight skid in a showdown with late replacement Joel Alvarez.

Following a hard-fought win over Cody Brundage earlier this year, the undefeated Johnson moved to Las Vegas in order to up his training and potentially expedite his growth as a fighter. McConico also owns a split decision win over Brundage and touches down in Philly off a unanimous decision victory over Rodolfo Vieira in April that brought his record level at 2-2 inside the Octagon.

Vicente Luque vs Tresean Gore

Following a successful divisional debut in April, Vicente Luque makes his second middleweight start this weekend against developing TUF alum Tresean Gore.

Magny makes his 38th UFC start on Saturday, looking to rebound following a first-round submission loss to Amosov in December that snapped a tidy two-fight winning streak. Brahimaj had his three-fight run of success halted in February by Punahele Soriano and returns here looking to avoid back-to-back defeats for the first time in his career.

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Jeremiah Wells vs Myktybek Orolbai

Philadelphia’s Jeremiah Wells gets a home game to start things off on Saturday, facing off with Myktybek Orolbai in an intriguing welterweight pairing.

A physical powerhouse who has been limited to seven UFC starts since arriving in the promotion in the summer of 2021, Wells aims to build on his November win over Themba Gorimbo in his first fight in Philly since winning the CFFC welterweight strap in his last pre-UFC appearance. Orolbai, who submitted Uros Medic in his promotional debut, has gone 2-0 since returning to the division, extending his winning streak to three and record to 16-2-1 overall in the process.