Sixteen was the number to beat
Anderson Silva won 16 in a row inside the UFC between 2006 and 2013, and for more than a decade that figure sat untouched at the top of the promotion’s record book. Islam Makhachev moved past it overnight in Philadelphia.
The welterweight champion beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision, 49-46, 49-46, 48-47, in the main event of UFC 330. It was his 17th straight victory and it took him to 29-1 as a professional.
The method was familiar enough. Makhachev controlled where the fight happened for most of its 25 minutes, chaining takedown attempts together and holding top position long enough to make the rounds difficult to score any other way. A head kick in the second round was the one moment the striking looked like the point rather than the setup.
Garry, 17-2, was trying to become only the second undisputed UFC champion produced by Ireland. He defended well enough on the mat to avoid a finish, and one judge gave him a round, but the offence never arrived in any volume.
“I have nothing but respect for Islam … he won. I have no complaints, no excuses,” Garry said in the Octagon.
Makhachev kept his own assessment short. “It’s always hard,” he said of the championship rounds.
Try it for $0.99.
Dern makes her first defence
The co-main event followed an almost identical shape. Mackenzie Dern, 17-5, defended the women’s strawweight title for the first time and beat Gillian Robertson by unanimous decision on the same three scorecards, 49-46, 49-46, 48-47.
Dern had spent fight week saying she would finish. She came closest in the opening round, hunting a rear-naked choke that the horn interrupted, then settled for five rounds of grappling control against a fellow submission specialist.
Barboza leaves his gloves on the canvas
Esteban Ribovics stopped Edson Barboza at 1:32 of the second round in the main card opener, and Barboza announced his retirement on the spot. He is 40, and the defeat was his fourth in succession.
His UFC career ran 16 years from a November 2010 debut to an 18-15 promotional record, 14 of those wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission, with 10 Fight of the Night bonuses along the way.
Earlier, Jalin Turner needed 39 seconds to knock out Kaue Fernandes, a left hand landing clean before the follow-up punches on the canvas ended it.
Discover the rest of our MMA news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply