Islam Makhachev further cemented himself as one of the greatest fighters ever at UFC 330 on Saturday, as he surpassed middleweight legend Anderson Silva's record of 16 consecutive UFC wins.
Makhachev (29-1) extended his win streak to 17 with a unanimous decision over Ian Machado Garry (17-2) inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The five-round bout was competitive throughout, but Makhachev's tenacious wrestling and a stunning head kick knockdown in the second round proved to be the difference. All three judges scored the 170-pound contest in his favor, via scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
"Ian is a great fighter, a good man, and I respect him," Makhachev said. "He gave me a hard time, but I still prove it every fight."
Makhachev, who is from Dagestan, a republic in Russia, began his record-setting win streak in September 2016, and has claimed the UFC's lightweight and welterweight championships. Silva's record of 16 consecutive wins stood for more than 13 years. The longtime 185-pound champion's 16-fight streak ran from June 2006 to October 2012.
Makhachev, 34, who is a longtime teammate of retired lightweight legend Khabib Nurmagomedov, was favored going into Saturday's matchup, but many pundits believed Garry presented a very unique challenge. A longtime lightweight, Makhachev moved up a weight class last November to seek his second UFC championship. Although he's widely recognized as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, his abilities at welterweight are still somewhat unproven.
Garry, of Ireland, boasted a size and height advantage over Makhachev, and frequently used both in the losing effort. According to UFC Stats, he surrendered seven takedowns to Makhachev, but did well working his way to the fence and getting back to his feet. Makhachev expended a lot of energy trying to maintain position, and Garry managed to score short, stinging shots in the clinch, particularly in the fourth round.
The third round was Garry's best, as he landed multiple kicks to the body and kept Makhachev uncomfortable with heavy head kick attempts. He stuffed several takedown attempts in the third and started to open up more offensively.
The fifth round was classic Makhachev, however, as he shot into Garry's legs in the opening 90 seconds and refused to give him an inch of separation the rest of the fight. After Garry momentarily worked back to his feet, Makhachev wrestled him back to the mat and spent the final minutes on Garry's back in a body triangle to seal the victory.
After the bout, UFC president Dana White praised Makhachev's record-breaking performance, and also questioned whether Garry showed him too much respect late in the fight.
"I felt like tonight was set up for the upset, I felt like the upset could happen tonight," he said. "With so much on the line, all the records Islam has and he's going to break Anderson's record ... I think Ian is a talented guy, and if he had even an ounce of killer instinct in that fifth round, he had him beaten to the body, Islam's face was beat up, you don't come out and hug and shake hands [at the start of the round]. You come out in that fifth round with a flying knee or something crazy to finish the fight. Islam went out and did the complete opposite, against a bigger, stronger, rangy guy, he controlled him and shut him down."
"Nothing surprised me, I have nothing but respect for Islam," said Garry, in defeat. "I believed in my heart and soul I was better than him tonight, and he won. No complaints, no excuses. I'm 28, I have a decade of domination already. This man won tonight. I can take that on my sleeve, go home, regroup and get better."
Makhachev's next welterweight contender will likely come from a short list that includes Ecuador's Michael Morales (19-0) and Brazil's Carlos Prates (24-7).