The hierarchy of the 170-pound and women’s 115-pound divisions was
at stake in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship’s return to Xfinity Mobile Arena
in Philadelphia.

Advertisement

The UFC
330 headliner saw Islam
Makhachev (29-1, 18-1 UFC) cement his status as one of the best
mixed martial artists ever as he outpointed Irish challenger
Ian
Garry (17-2, 10-2 UFC). The former 155-pound titleholder
started strong, dominating his opponent in the opening frame with
his wrestling-based style. He then dropped Garry with a head kick
in the second before controlling his foe on the ground until the
end of the stanza. Garry fared better in Round 3, when Makhachev
appeared slightly fatigued and slowed his relentless takedown
attempts. “The Future” was sharper with his strikes, putting
together his best round of the contest.

Islam Makhachev beats Ian Garry by unanimous decision and sets
the UFC record with his 17th straight win

The Dagestani fighter struggled in Round 4 as well, while Garry
continued to score with his strikes. The fight looked fairly even
entering the fifth and final frame before Makhachev scored a
takedown and took his foe’s back. He then settled into the dominant
position after locking in a tight body triangle, letting the fight
go the distance. When the dust settled, Bruce Buffer announced that
Makhachev had won the fight by scores of 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47.
The Dagestani is riding a 17-bout winning streak, setting the
record for the longest in promotional history by surpassing former
UFC 185-pound titleholder Anderson
Silva.

Mackenzie Dern outgrapples Gillian Robertson to retain UFC
strawweight title

In the co-feature, Mackenzie
Dern (17-5, 12-5 UFC) retained the UFC women’s strawweight
crown after outclassing “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 26 graduate
Gillian
Robertson (17-9, 14-7 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision.
Dern dominated the fight by moving the action to the canvas as
quickly as possible, with Robertson never finding a way to stop her
opponent’s advances. On the mat, the American showcased her
Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills by controlling her foe and threatening
with several submission attempts. The RVCA representative came
close to finishing Robertson with a rear-naked choke at the end of
Round 1, but the Canadian survived. Robertson had a better fifth
stanza but never seriously threatened to dethrone Dern as the fight
went the distance. Ultimately, the judges scored it 49-46, 49-46
and 48-47 in favor of Dern. With the victory, Dern secured the
first title defense of her championship run, extended her winning
streak to four and cemented herself
as one of the best women’s pound-for-pound fighters in the
world.

Earlier on the card,
Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Jalin
Turner (16-9, 9-6 UFC) flattened Kaue
Fernandes (11-3, 3-2 UFC), scoring his second straight Octagon
win. Turner countered an ill-advised spinning backfist attempt by
Fernandes with a left hook, immediately dropping his foe. Smelling
blood, “The Tarantula” followed with a barrage of punches until
referee Jason Herzog stepped in 39 seconds into the fight.

Pennsylvania’s own Dustin
Stoltzfus (17-8, 4-7 UFC) submitted Mansur
Abdul-Malik (9-2-1, 3-2-1 UFC) with only 35 seconds left in
Round 2, snapping a two-bout skid in their 185-pound pairing. The
Pennsylvanian was the underdog entering the fight, but he proved to
be the better grappler. When the chance came to take Abdul-Malik’s
back, Stoltzfus made the most of the favorable position and

finished the fight with a rear-naked choke.

In the main-card opener, Argentine up-and-comer Esteban
Ribovics (16-3, 5-3 UFC) forced longtime UFC 155-pounder
Edson
Barboza (24-15, 18-15 UFC) into retirement after stopping his
opponent 92 seconds into the second frame. Barboza looked far from
his former self and
succumbed to a combination of punches after being
pinned against the fence. After the fight, Barboza laid his gloves
in the Octagon, wrapping up a 17-year career.

Elsewhere on the prelims, Chidi
Njokuani (26-12, 1 NC; 6-5 UFC) returned to the win column
after back-to-back defeats by outpointing Joel
Alvarez (23-5, 8-4 UFC) en route to a unanimous decision
(30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at the end of an uneventful welterweight
matchup; in his fourth assignment this year, Charles
Johnson (20-9, 9-7 UFC) spoiled the promotional debut of
short-notice replacement and former Legacy Fighting Alliance
125-pound titleholder Eduardo
Henrique (15-3, 0-1 UFC) after
submitting his foe with a rare Scottish twister at 1:36 of Round
3 in their 130-pound catchweight bout; in a 185-pound
clash, Donte
Johnson (9-0, 3-0 UFC) kept his record unblemished after
knocking out Legacy Fighting Alliance alum Eric
McConico (11-5-1, 2-3 UFC)
with punches 98 seconds out of the gate; “The Ultimate
Fighter” Season 29 finalist Tresean
Gore (7-4, 4-4 UFC) upended „The Silent Assassin“ Vicente
Luque (24-13-1, 17-9 UFC) on all three scorecards in their
middleweight affair (30-27, 30-27, 29-28); Lucas
Fernando (14-3, 1-0 UFC) won the 205-pound prospect battle as
he crushed fellow DWCS alum Rafael
Tobias (14-3, 0-2 UFC) with
a knee to the body followed by elbows 70 seconds into
the third stanza; at welterweight, 39-year-old veteran Neil Magny
(32-14, 25-13 UFC) bounced back by stopping submission specialist
Ramiz
Brahimaj (13-7, 5-5 UFC)
with punches at 3:20 of the second frame; in the
170-pound opener, Philadelphia’s own Jeremiah
Wells (14-4-1, 6-2 UFC) put Kyrgyz prospect Myktybek
Orolbai (16-3-1, 5-2 UFC) to sleep
with a slick ninja choke at 1:24 of Round 3.

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

Internationaler Kampfkunst und Kampfsport Kleinanzeiger