Ian Machado Garry broke down his upcoming main event at UFC 330 against UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Machado Garry is 10-1 overall in the UFC, and he gets the biggest opportunity of his MMA career to date on Saturday when he takes on Makhachev, the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the sport today. Should Machado Garry win, he would become the new UFC welterweight champion and potentially overtake Makhachev in the P4P ranks.
Ian Machado Garry Analyzes Islam Makhachev
Speaking to the media in Philadelphia ahead of UFC 330, Machado Garry broke down his fight with Makhachev, explaining that it is essentially a striker vs. grappler bout.
“People are talking about it being an interesting fight. But the truth is that it’s such a black and white fight. He has to get me down. I have to keep it on the feet. However, it’s the most elite of both of those worlds. He’s unbelievably good when he gets a hold of people. I am unbelievably good at moving around on the feet and being the best striker in the world. It’s, ‘How do we get our games going to win the fight?’ Who’s going to control the fight and get it where they want it to be, keep it where they want it to be. Can he grab a hold of me, keep a hold of me, get me to do the ground? Can I stop him from holding me down? Can I keep hitting him, keep hurting him? That’s the fight,” Machado Garry said (via MMAjunkie.com).
“I believe it’s the most elite version of a striker vs. grappler that we’ve seen in the sport. It’s the next generation of what MMA has turned into, because Islam is no slouch on the feet. Look what the guy did to Jack Della Maddalena. The guy can strike, but we don’t talk about it because he’s so good at the grappling. For me, it’s very simple. He’s a phenomenal fighter in every facet of the game, as am I. I think this is one of the most well rounded fights we’ve seen in the UFC. Full stop.”
Ian Machado Garry in Deep at UFC 330
Although Machado Garry believes this fight boils down to it being a striker vs. grappler bout, the truth is, the fight is more complicated than that.
Yes, Machado Garry is a terrific striker, and he may be the superior striker in this matchup. But Makhachev is no slouch at all when it comes to the art of stand-up, so Machado Garry shouldn’t take for granted that Makhachev could potentially outpoint him on the feet or even hurt him.
Either way, it’s going to be a fantastic matchup between two of the best welterweights in the world. Makhachev is the favorite to defend his UFC welterweight title, but given how talented Machado Garry is, you would be foolish to think he doesn’t have what it takes to defeat Makhachev and end his UFC-record-tying 16-fight win streak before he gets it to 17.
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