UFC 330: Love or hate Ian Machado Garry, he deserves respect after battling Islam Makhachev in Philadelphia

Back in the day, fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus in Philadelphia during a halftime show of an Eagles game at old Franklin Field. Thirty years later, when games were held in the concrete fortress known as Veterans Stadium, a makeshift courtroom and jail were built in the bowels of the stadium because a quick justice system was needed to deal with rowdies.

It’s well-documented that it can be a harsh crowd in the City of Brotherly Love.

But you know who Philadelphia loved on Saturday night? Islam Makhachev. Dagestan may be over 5,000 miles from Philly, but the city embraced the UFC’s welterweight champion in his first title defense against Ian Machado Garry, in large part because of Ian Machado Garry. The fans didn’t like him. Not as a challenger. Not as a person. Not as a potential spoiler. At one point during UFC 330’s main event, a chant broke out that couldn’t help but tip their hand.

“F*** Ian Garry!” the chant went. Thousands joined in.

It wasn’t what you might call the friendly confines for the Irishman, who showed up with the daunting task of trying to overthrow the UFC’s best pound-for-pound fighter. Vegas oddsmakers installed Garry as a sizable underdog, which in other towns might’ve been enough to sway some sentiment. 

Not in Philadelphia. 

And to Garry’s credit, he did his level best to tune out the noise, even if it didn’t look good for him in the early going against Makhachev’s dogged pursuit. With Makhachev’s 25-minute manhandling of then-champion Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 still fresh on people’s minds, it felt somewhat predictable when Islam took Garry down in the first round and went to work. Even though Garry had trained for this inevitability with the great Demian Maia, he couldn’t shake free of Makhachev, who kept him in his grips until the end of the round. 

In the second, after more Dagestani toil nullified Garry’s own offense, Islam caught Garry on a break with a solid right hand followed by a perfectly timed head kick that dropped Garry on his retreat. For those who remembered UFC 101 in Philadelphia, when Anderson Silva – the man whose consecutive win streak Makhachev was trying to beat on Saturday night – bewitched Forrest Griffin with Matrix-like movement and sniping magic, it looked as though Philly was in for another masterful performance. 

Garry survived the round but was down two rounds on the scorecards.

At that point it felt academic that Islam would win, yet something happened in the third round that felt like nothing much at first. Garry thwarted a takedown attempt, which was a small victory, all things considered, yet just enough to get going. Then he began to land some shots. Selective shots. Body kicks at first, with an occasional high kick. Islam’s mouth drooped open, and he started to breathe through it, while Garry coolly laid into Makhachev’s rib cage. 

This turn got the attention of both 26-year-old Michael Morales and the most violent of the Fighting Nerds, Carlos Prates, both of whom were cageside to get a closer look at their obstacles. Neither wanted Garry to win because each wants to be the one to end Makhachev’s streak. They were among the thousands gathered who wanted to see Garry lose.

Yet suddenly it was 2-1.

In the fourth round, as Makhachev dragged Garry back into his custody along the fence, the challenger began landing shots in close. The optics were that Makhachev was controlling the situation, but the scoring criteria – nuanced as it is – favors damage over control. Though there wasn’t a ton of damage being done by Garry, he was certainly doing more than Makhachev, who wasn’t doing much at all.   

By the end of the round, there was a very real possibility that the fight was tied 2-2 heading into the final round. The UFC, who has seen champions like Ilia Topuria and Khamzat Chimaev fall in colossal upsets in the previous months, had to wonder if Garry would finish the suite by killing off the last of the invincibles. That thought couldn’t have been comfortable, especially given Garry’s newfound partnership with Matchroom’s head man Eddie Hearn, Dana White’s adversary on the boxing side. 

Besides, the big fights – the ones that captivate the imagination – belonged to Islam. There was Prates and Morales and the returning Shavkat Rakhmonov, who was the No. 1 contender before injuries derailed his turn. Garry, who beat Prates last year in Kansas City, Missouri, had lost to Rakhmonov four months earlier. 

If Philadelphia hated Garry as he came in, he might need to duck to avoid flying batteries on his way out. 

But it didn’t happen.

It is possible that other cities have cheered a checkmate-style takedown like the one Makhachev landed on Garry in the fifth, but it doesn’t often happen. Usually when action gets canceled by a takedown in a close title fight in the fifth round, there are far more boos than cheers. But because it was Makhachev securing the round, and therefore the fight, Philly came to life. It was a physically imposed brand of keepaway, the kind of imposition of will that has come to distinguish the Nurmagomedov clan, of which Makhachev belongs.

Seventeen wins in a row, a UFC record. GOAT talk intact for another fight. Dana White said afterward he didn’t love Makhachev’s performance, but he especially didn’t like Garry’s. He said that if Garry had an ounce of killer instinct, he could’ve won the fight. But as it was, Garry – the man so many love to hate – was respectful in his defeat. 

Too respectful for Dana’s tastes. Even when he couldn’t win, he couldn’t win, which means it’ll be a hard road back to contendership. Garry was fighting an uphill battle at UFC 330, and with the line of contenders he’ll likely never get a crack at Makhachev again. 

“I believed in my heart and in my soul I was better than him tonight,” Garry told Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview. “He won. I have no complaints, no excuses. This was the best camp of my life. I’m proud of my team, I’m proud of my family. I love my wife, my little boy. I fight to make them happy. And I’m proud of everything that I’ve done.”

He went on to say he’d be back, that he was young in the game and strong in the head. Then he responded to those who don’t care for him. 

“And to all the fans that doubt me, I’ll be back. I’ll be back. I don’t need any of you. I love myself, and I love my team enough. So, go f*** yourself, and I’ll be back.”

It’s August, so there weren’t any snowballs, but the Philly crowd let him have it one last time anyway, peeved that after all that his head was still high.