Islam Makhachev and Ian Machado Garry stood face-to-face for the first time Tuesday night at Philadelphia’s Rocky statue, four days before their UFC 330 welterweight title fight.
Makhachev carried the championship belt over his left shoulder before closing the distance with Garry. Neither fighter shoved, spoke, or broke position early. They held the stare for the cameras, stepped apart, and finished the appearance with a side-by-side pose.
The meeting gave UFC 330 its first in-person look at the size difference behind months of debate. UFC’s official listings put the 5-foot-10 Makhachev opposite the 6-foot-3 Garry. Their title fight was announced in June, but Tuesday marked their first promotional faceoff.
Watch the complete UFC faceoff below:
Makhachev enters his first welterweight title defense with a 28-1 record. He took the 170-pound belt from Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 on November 15, 2025, winning every scorecard 50-45 in a five-round shutout. That result made him a two-division champion after four successful lightweight defenses and extended his UFC winning streak to 16, tying Anderson Silva’s promotion record. A victory Saturday would give Makhachev the record alone.
Garry arrives at 17-1 for his first UFC title opportunity. His only defeat came by unanimous decision against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310. He answered it with unanimous-decision wins over Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad, including 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 scorecards against Muhammad last November.
UFC also released the faceoff between strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern and challenger Gillian Robertson from the same Philadelphia appearance. Dern is 16-5 entering her first defense, while Robertson is 17-8 after four straight wins.
UFC 330 takes place Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The card streams exclusively on Paramount+, with early prelims at 5 p.m. ET, prelims at 7 p.m. ET, and the main card at 9 p.m. ET. Unbeaten contender Michael Morales is assigned as the main-event backup.
