UFC 330 in Philadelphia closed with Islam Makhachev successfully defending his welterweight title for the first time against Ian Garry. With this victory, Islam also broke the UFC record for most consecutive wins, earning his 17th straight victory and passing Anderson Silva’s legendary 16-fight winning streak.

Worth celebrating, right?

Especially considering Ian Garry is no ordinary welterweight. At 6’3″ (190.5 cm), he is unusually tall for the division. His 74-inch reach is actually shorter than his height, giving him a negative Ape Index, though his long frame still creates a significant physical problem for many welterweights.

For casual fans, this fight might have looked a little boring. The statistics do not exactly support the entertainment claim either:

• low significant-strike output,
• plenty of takedown attempts,
• long stretches of control time, and really only one major highlight moment.
• Probably we can also heard: “Bro, seriously, what did we just watch? A hugging contest?“

But hold up.
Ian Garry actually gave us a very interesting case study of Islam Makhachev’s career.

The most interesting part was not simply who won each phase. It was how Islam kept rebuilding his wrestling while Garry repeatedly tried to restore distance.

That interaction became the tactical center of the fight.

This Was Not Simply Wrestling vs. Striking

The easiest way to describe Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Garry often would be:

• Islam wrestle, Garry strike.
• Wrestler vs Striker.
• Khabib Nurmagomedov vs Conor McGregor from Temu.

Technically it’s correct, except it’s almost completely useless to explain the fight.

The real battle happened between connection and separation, Islam won the battle once he physically connected to Garry, no matter whether the takedowns worked or not. Once Islam reached the legs, waist, hips, or rear body lock, he could continue delivering problems.

When Garry completely broke Islam’s grips and returned to long distance, the visual geometry of the fight changed immediately. His height, lead hand, long stance, kicks, and backward adjustments became useful again. This guy is just fucking tall for Islam to deal.

Anyway, that make the fight often followed one question:

Can Islam keep touching Garry long enough to rebuild the wrestling, or can Garry completely disconnect and make him cross the distance again?

Both of them answered that across five rounds, with Islam is more consistently while Garry still found several real solutions. Not so surprise that this fight is completely different from what we saw Khabib Nurmagomedov did to Conor McGregor, in term of one side dominance and rivalry story.

What Islam Makhachev Did Best 🇷🇺

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He Turned Fail Takedown Attempt Into Wrestling Chain

One of the clearest examples happened early in Round 1.

Islam changed levels in open space and attacked.
Garry’s first reaction was good: He sprawled his hips backward, put weight into Islam, and forced Islam’s upper body downward. Freeze the fight at that exact moment and you could reasonably say: “Good takedown defense.”

The problem is that Islam stayed connected. That detail defines much of his wrestling.
He instead changed his angle, followed the hips and continued wrestling through the defensive reaction until the exchange eventually produced control.

The takedown sequence should be something like this:

Islam enters → Garry stuffs the initial attack → Islam keeps his connection → Garry moves to escape → Islam follows the hips → A second wrestling problem appears

This wrestling chain also share similar structure during Khabib Nurmagomedov first round takedown Conor McGregor as well, where Conor defended the first attempt, Khabib then changed angle and drove him toward the fence.

Round 4 showed the same idea even more clearly:

Islam attacked again → Garry sprawled → Islam secured control → Garry crawled to the fence and rebuilt posture → Islam followed the legs → Garry got higher → Islam moved his control higher toward the waist → Garry reached standing → Islam remained attached behind or beside him

By that point, asking whether the original takedown “succeeded” almost becomes meaningless. The takedown was only being treated as the entry for a repeatedly positional transition sequence.

That was Islam’s biggest technical achievement in this fight.

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Standing Up Is Not the Same as Escaping Islam

This distinction became even clearer around the end of Round 1, Garry regularly showed that he could rebuild his base. He refused to stay flat down and repeatedly worked back toward his feet.

That is impressive, especially against an elite grappler like Islam Makhachev.

But Islam still had his hands connected, standing was only the second part of the escape.
Think of the defensive process as three stages:

1. Stop the takedown
2. Recover posture or stand
3. Break the grips and separate

Garry succeeded at the first stage many times and also at the second stage regularly. But the third stage caused him the real trouble.

Islam could allow Garry to stand because the standing position gave him another set of attacks:

• Rear waist lock.
• Trip.
• Mat return.
• Fence pressure.
• Inside trip.
• Hand fighting.
• Return to the legs.

Think of it like a plan B in his the game:

Ground → Garry stands → Islam stays connected → new wrestling exchange

A fighter can technically be standing and still remain completely trapped. And the thing is, during the whole process, the control time always side with Islam.

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The Round 2 Knockdown Added Another Problem

Islam’s Round 2 head-kick knockdown mattered because it reminded Garry that the champion could punish him during the careless striking phase too.

Garry already had several decisions competing for his attention. He separated from clinch, and during range reset phase, he left his head exposed. Islam then gave him a head kick landed direct to his cheek:

Islam initiate the clinch during a combination → Garry pressed him to the fence → They separated → Garry dropped his hands expect for a low kick during reset → Islam gave him a head kick instead

After the knockdown, Islam pushed up his pace, looking for the finish. Instead, Ian Garry slowed him using another clinch. But this time, Islam threw him down using Koshi Guruma and secured on side control before he try to push the battle to the fence again.

For the rest of the fight, Garry still recovered well and produced some of his strongest work in Rounds 3 and 4.

What Ian Garry Did Best 🇮🇪

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His First Layer of Takedown Defense Was Legitimately Strong

Garry deserves much more credit here than simply saying he “survived Islam’s wrestling.”

His initial defensive reactions worked several times.

First, he prepared for Islam’s level changes by keeping his weight slightly backward, ready to move his hips away from the shot. And because his reach is still long for the weight class, Garry could use his lead hand as a frame to maintain space before Islam reached his body.

His posture recovery was also impressive for such a tall fighter.

Tall fighters can sometimes become easier wrestling targets because their hips sit higher and their stance naturally creates more space underneath them.

But Ian Garry rarely gave Islam a completely clean first attack.

Even when Islam could eventually take him down and drive him toward the ground, saying:

“Garry could not defend Islam’s takedowns.”

misses what actually happened.

A better description might be:

Garry frequently stopped Islam’s first wrestling action, but he struggled to stop Islam from turning that defense into another action.

And in Round 3, Garry actually solved the entire sequence.

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Round 3 Showed the Complete Garry Escape

One of Garry’s best defensive sequences came early in Round 3:

Islam entered → Garry reacted → a grappling exchange formed → Garry worked back toward standing.

So far, this was still the same pattern we had seen earlier. But this time, something changed after Garry stood up: He broke Islam’s hands, then physically separated without interact further in clinch position.

Once Garry restored long distance, his own tools returned: the lead-hand jab, the long stance, and the head kick. He went from defending Islam back to making Islam enter his range. And those are completely different fights.

That is why I would call Garry’s best skill in this fight restoring distance, rather than simply takedown defense.

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Garry’s Lead Hand Was His Barrier

Once the fight returned to long range, Garry used his physical advantage extremely well, and his lead hand played a major role during the striking exchanges. It allowed him to:

• measure distance,
• interrupt Islam’s approach,
• block the direct line toward his torso,
• and collect reactions.

The lead hand created a physical barrier that Islam had to cross.

Combined with Garry’s long stance and small backward adjustments, it made the distance feel much longer. This was important because Garry did not always retreat in huge steps. A large retreat could eventually bring him straight toward the fence, which would open the path for Islam to re-enter the clinch and cage-wrestling phase.

Instead, Garry often gave Islam just enough ground to maintain the distance, then repositioned. Islam had to cross several layers before he could reach the hips.

But there was also a trade-off: Garry rarely committed himself deeply to striking exchanges. He spent much of the fight protecting the distance first, which naturally limited how much offense he could build.

That is why I would not describe Garry’s success simply as “good striking”. He was not clearly outstriking Islam in this fight.

His real achievement was using his physical advantage to create a difficult space for Islam to enter while keeping the amount of damage he absorbed relatively low.

Why Islam Still Won 🤼‍♂️

Even though Ian Garry performed a strong defensive game, solving Islam Makhachev requires much more than good takedown defense alone.

Think back to Islam’s first fight with Alexander Volkanovski.

Volkanovski showed one of the better striking approaches against Islam, mixing distance management with counter-pressure and forcing Islam to work through different phases of the fight.

Islam still won through his takedowns, positional control, and ability to control important moments. But he clearly lost during the striking phase.

Against Ian Garry, the striking situation looked different.

Through Round 1 and Round 2, even when Garry managed distance well, he did not turn that distance into meaningful offense.
The Round 1 statistics reflected that: Garry landed no significant strikes, going 0-for-2.

Islam was not producing huge striking numbers either, landing 3-of-5 significant strikes, but he mixed enough offense into his entries to move the fight toward the grappling phase and accumulated 3:38 of control time.

Garry defended.
He rebuilt posture.
He survived the exchanges.
But he produced almost no meaningful damage in return.

Round 2 began to look better for him.

He managed the distance more confidently and even pushed Islam toward the fence during a clinch exchange. Then came the knockdown.

The moment Islam dropped Garry with the head kick, the entire round changed. Islam took over the momentum and brought the fight back into his control game.

Overall, the main weapon Islam used to defeat Ian Garry was positional control. The takedown and ground control themselves played more of a supporting role.

Much of the real battle happened in cage wrestling and clinch exchanges rather than traditional ground control, where Islam repeatedly forced Garry to solve the same problem:

Stop the first attack → Recover posture → Stand up → Break the grips → Separate → Restore distance.

If one layer failed, Islam kept the sequence alive.

That persistence produced enough control across five rounds to win the decision.

What Garry Proved Even in Defeat 🥊

Ian Garry lost his first UFC title fight. Still, he answered several important questions that many of Islam Makhachev’s previous opponents could not.

His height did not automatically become a liability against an elite wrestler. In some situations, it actually helped him:

• At long range, his height allowed him to keep Islam farther away and made it difficult for Islam to close the distance cleanly for striking exchanges.
• During wrestling exchanges, Garry’s long frame also helped him maintain posture, create posts, and keep his body from being flattened.

He also found moments where he completely broke Islam’s grips. And once he restored distance, his lead hand and movement genuinely changed the matchup.

That matters for Garry’s future. Very few fighters are going to present the same level of connection problem as Islam Makhachev. But Garry has now survived five rounds with Shavkat Rakhmonov and gone five rounds with Islam Makhachev, two of the most elite grapplers inside UFC at the current.

So the lesson from UFC 330 should not simply be:

“Garry needs better takedown defense.”

Too simple take. His first layer of takedown defense was already strong. The area that still needs improvement is the final stage: ending the wrestling exchange completely.

The next step is making sure the grappling connection actually ends when he reaches his feet.

What Islam Proved as Welterweight Champion 🏆

Islam’s first welterweight title defense also revealed something different from many of his lightweight fights.

At lightweight, there were moments where opponents could not survive the initial takedown and the positional control that followed. Even against his first debut at welterweight, Jack Della Maddalena, the physical dimensions of the matchup were much closer, which simplified some of Islam’s control work.

Ian Garry presented a different problem. His size, balance, long frame, and defensive awareness made the wrestling process much harder. Islam had to rebuild more often, he needs the connection between techniques to stay alive:

• Failed one takedown → Chain takedown.
• Garry successful stand-up → Mat return.
• Garry crawl toward the fence → Cage positional control.

And once that relationship keep remaining alive, Ian Garry still has to keep solving the same problem again.

Final Thoughts 💭

With this successfully defended the title, Islam Makhachev made history at UFC 330:

• Seventeen consecutive UFC victories, surpass Anderson Silva record.
• A successful welterweight first title defense.
• Another elite challenger added to the résumé.

But despite the loss, Ian Garry showed us why he belong to championship level: He survived and went full 5 rounds with two of the most elite grapplers in the current welterweight, Islam Makhachev and Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Islam showed something different too: His striking is now something need to be pay attention, where he showed could standing against Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier, now with Ian Garry.

Over five rounds, Garry kept finding answers, and Islam simply kept the sequence alive long enough to ask the next question.

And in the end, that was enough to make history.

Which impressed you more: Islam’s ability to keep rebuilding his wrestling, or Garry’s ability to repeatedly survive it and restore his striking game?