Islam Makhachev breaks UFC win-streak record with 17th straight victory at UFC 330

Islam Makhachev defeated Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision in the UFC 330 main event in Philadelphia on Aug. 15, 2026, extending his winning streak to 17 fights and surpassing Anderson Silva’s previous UFC record of 16 straight victories.

Makhachev’s run began after the only loss of his professional career, a first-round knockout against Adriano Martins in 2015, and included a submission of Charles Oliveira at UFC 280 to win the lightweight championship. He recorded two victories over Alexander Volkanovski — one concluding with a head-kick knockout at UFC 294 — added further lightweight title defenses, then moved up to welterweight to capture the belt from Jack Della Maddalena before defending it against Garry.

Against Garry at UFC 330, Makhachev faced a taller, longer striker and relied on pressure, wrestling, positional control and patience rather than seeking a highlight finish; all three judges awarded the contest to the champion by unanimous decision.

Anderson Silva’s 16-fight UFC streak, which Makhachev eclipsed, ran from 2006 to 2012 and featured 10 consecutive successful middleweight title defenses. Silva also recorded notable finishes during that period, including the front-kick knockout of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126, and produced a comeback submission of Chael Sonnen in the fifth round at UFC 117.

Kamaru Usman compiled 15 consecutive UFC wins, the longest streak in the welterweight division, and became champion by defeating Tyron Woodley at UFC 235; his run included a rivalry that produced two championship fights with Colby Covington and a knockout of Jorge Masvidal at UFC 261 before Leon Edwards ended the streak with a head kick at UFC 278.

Merab Dvalishvili amassed a 14-fight UFC winning streak that encompassed victories over José Aldo, Petr Yan and Henry Cejudo, captured the bantamweight title by defeating Sean O’Malley at UFC 306, and added further championship wins in 2025; UFC records note his 14-fight run concluded when Petr Yan reclaimed the bantamweight title with a unanimous decision at UFC 323 on Dec. 6, 2025.

A group of fighters completed 13-fight UFC streaks: Georges St-Pierre rebuilt after a loss to Matt Serra and, after wins over Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz and Johny Hendricks, returned at UFC 217 to move up to middleweight and submit Michael Bisping to become a two-division champion; Jon Jones recorded 13 straight wins after defeating Mauricio “Shogun” Rua to become the youngest UFC champion at 23, with his 2017 victory over Daniel Cormier later overturned to a no contest; Demetrious Johnson’s 13-fight run included 11 consecutive flyweight title defenses and the armbar sequence against Ray Borg at UFC 216; Khabib Nurmagomedov’s 13 UFC wins featured victories over Conor McGregor at UFC 229, Dustin Poirier at UFC 242 and Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 before he retired with a 29-0 professional record; and Max Holloway followed a 2013 loss to Conor McGregor with 13 straight wins that included third-round TKO victories over José Aldo at UFC 212 and UFC 218 before his streak ended against Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 when he moved up to lightweight.

Three fighters share runs of 12 consecutive UFC victories: Amanda Nunes (March 2015 to March 2021), which spanned bantamweight and featherweight and included wins over Ronda Rousey, Valentina Shevchenko, Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm before ending against Julianna Peña; Alexander Volkanovski (November 2016 to July 2022), featuring wins over José Aldo, Max Holloway, Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung; and Tony Ferguson (October 2013 to June 2019), a streak that included victories over Edson Barboza, Rafael dos Anjos, Kevin Lee, Anthony Pettis and Donald Cerrone and encompassed his capture of the interim lightweight title.

Islam Makhachev now holds the longest winning streak in UFC history with 17 consecutive victories and retained the welterweight championship at UFC 330; Kamaru Usman remains listed with the welterweight division’s record of 15 consecutive UFC wins.