Makhachev says he 'does not have much time' as he prepares to defend welterweight title at UFC 330
Islam Makhachev said he "does not have much time" left in the UFC as he prepares to make the first defence of his welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The bout is scheduled to take place at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
The 34-year-old enters the weekend on a joint-record 16-win streak in the UFC and is a former lightweight champion who moved up in weight last year after a record-breaking fourth lightweight title defence. Makhachev made his UFC debut in 2015 and has won 17 of his 18 fights in the promotion, a run that has contributed to his reputation as one of the sport's leading fighters.
Speaking to UFC Hall of Famer Demetrious Johnson, Makhachev said he wants to fight more frequently as he enters the latter stages of his career and repeated that he feels time is limited. "I'm not like young guy. Now it's better for me to fight every three to four months," he said. "I understand I'm not 28 years old; I'm 34 right now. And I don't have much time. Sometimes it's not going like you want in the UFC. You want to fight after three or four months, but it's not according to your wish."
Critics have debated whether Makhachev's achievements surpass those of his team-mate and coach Khabib Nurmagomedov, who retired in 2020 having won all 29 of his fights and was noted in the article for a relentless pressuring style. The piece states Makhachev is not as aggressive in the octagon as Nurmagomedov but is a more well-rounded striker, and records his sole professional defeat as coming against Adriano Martins in 2015.
Last year Makhachev beat Jack Della Maddalena to become a two-division champion, a milestone the article notes Nurmagomedov never achieved. UFC president Dana White is quoted this week as saying Makhachev is "on the right path" to being regarded as the greatest fighter in UFC history.
Machado Garry, 28, arrives having won 10 of his 11 fights in the UFC and stands a win away from becoming the first Irish champion in the promotion since Conor McGregor, should he defeat Makhachev. The Irish fighter said: "I have so much love and respect for Islam Makachev and his body of work that he has done in the UFC. There is no other fight I would want to prove that I'm the best in the world," and added, "I get to fight the greatest lightweight of all time, a two-weight world champion, the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. That's why the fight is so interesting. You have got one who focuses mainly on wrestling and grappling, the other who focuses on striking and anti-grappling. This is a fight for history. This is a fight for legacy."
Should Makhachev beat 28-year-old Machado Garry at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, he will eclipse Anderson Silva's 16 successive wins in the UFC — a record which has stood for 13 years.