Islam Makhachev Just Broke a UFC Record That Stood for 13 Years

Anderson Silva's record for the longest win streak in UFC history stood for more than a decade. Saturday night in Philadelphia, Islam Makhachev took it. He beat Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision at UFC 330 to defend his welterweight title, push his record to 29-1, and put his 17th straight UFC victory in the books. The scorecards read 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47. The record is now his alone. The Fight Was Closer Than the Cards Two judges saw a 49-46 fight, which reads like a comfortable win. It was not that simple. Makhachev controlled the first two rounds with wrestling and pressure, and he landed the single best strike of the night in the second, a head kick that dropped Garry and left him wobbling. From there the champion took him down and smothered him against the fence. Then the middle rounds turned. Garry started attacking the oblique, landed a hard body kick, and reversed a takedown attempt in the third before landing a head kick of his own. MMA Fighting scored rounds three and four for the challenger and had the fight even at 38-38 heading into the fifth. Makhachev closed it out by taking Garry's back with under half a round to go and holding position. | Detail | Result | |---|---| | Winner | Islam Makhachev, unanimous decision | | Scores | 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 | | Streak | 17 straight UFC wins, all-time record | | Previous record holder | Anderson Silva | | Closing odds | Makhachev -330, Garry +265 | | Venue | Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia | That is a five-round title fight where the underdog won two rounds on at least one credible scorecard and still lost 49-46 twice. Worth remembering the next time you are handicapping a Makhachev fight and someone tells you the judging is a coin flip. What the Betting Market Got Right Makhachev closed around -330 on FanDuel with Garry at +265. The favorite won, and the method matched the price. This is the pattern with Makhachev, and it has been for 17 fights. He is priced as a heavy favorite, the market is usually correct, and the value question is never really "does he win" but "how." The more useful lesson is what happened to the live-dog thesis. Garry was a genuine live underdog on paper. He had beaten a former champion in Belal Muhammad and a top contender in Carlos Prates. He entered 17-1 with only a decision loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov on his record. He trained his grappling with Demian Maia, and Makhachev acknowledged afterward that the work showed. None of it produced enough offense to take the belt. Dana White criticized Garry for a lack of killer instinct, and the round-by-round tells you why. Garry threw very little in the third round and still won it, which says more about the pace than his output. Makhachev's own read on the size difference was the most instructive quote of the night: "I feel guys have more power, hard to submit them, but still my game is working. I take down all my opponents, give them a hard time there." The Records Behind the Record The win streak is the headline, but Makhachev's résumé is stacking up in a way that changes how his future fights get priced. He already holds the record for the most successful UFC lightweight title defenses with four. He captured welterweight gold last November with a decision over Jack Della Maddalena. With Saturday's defense, he joined the small group of fighters who have successfully defended titles in two weight classes, alongside Henry Cejudo, Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, and Amanda Nunes. He is also the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA Fighting's rankings, and there is a broader context worth noting. Ilia Topuria, Alex Pereira, and Khamzat Chimaev have all been the guy everyone expected to fall. Makhachev keeps not falling. In the co-main event, Mackenzie Dern outgrappled Gillian Robertson to retain her strawweight title in a fight nobody is going to rewatch. The forward-looking news came from the UFC 333 announcement: Alexander Volkanovski against Movsar Evloev, plus a Petr Yan and Merab Dvalishvili trilogy bout. Both of those are markets to start watching now rather than fight week. Garry, for his part, handled the loss well. "I have no complaints, no excuses. This is the best camp of my life," he said, before pointing out that Volkanovski and Justin Gaethje won world titles at 38. "I'm 28, baby. This might not set me back one step." SBA Takeaway Betting against Makhachev has been a losing proposition 17 straight times, and Saturday reinforced why. His path to victory does not require him to win exchanges or find a finish. He wins by taking people down, holding them there, and draining the round. That style produces decisions, and decisions are where the market's method props get interesting. If you are looking at his next fight, the distance and decision markets have historically been where the number reflects reality better than the moneyline. The caution for anyone who fades chalk on principle is that a live underdog needs a plausible path, not just a good record. Garry had the résumé and the camp. He did not have an answer for the wrestling, and everyone watching knew it by the end of round two. Read the stylistic matchup before you read the price. Related Reading - Russell Westbrook Retires With 209 Triple-Doubles and Zero Rings - Every NFL Preseason Line Saturday Is Three Points or Less. Here Is Why. - The Lynx Are 28-7 and Only a 1.5-Point Favorite in Las Vegas