Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) will defend his welterweight title for the first time on Aug. 15 in Philadelphia, where he’ll take on Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 main event.

As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings had Makhachev installed as a -285 favorite, leaving Garry as a +230 underdog.

Makhachev vacated his lightweight title in late June of last year to move up a weight class and fight for the belt. He made his welterweight debut at UFC 322 last November at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where he dominated Jack Della Maddalena for five rounds to capture a unanimous-decision win (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) as a -300 ‘chalk.’

Makhachev extended his winning streak to 16 fights to tie the UFC’s all-time record that he now shares with Anderson ‘The Spider’ Silva. He became the 11th fighter in the promotion’s history to win championships in two different divisions.

Makhachev hasn’t tasted defeat in more than a decade. In his second career Octagon appearance at UFC 192, he lost via first-round knockout to Adriano Martins.

Since then, Makhachev has produced notable career victories over the likes of Arman Tsarukyan, Drew Dober, Dan Hooker, King Green, Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski (twice), Dustin Poirier and Renato Moicano. He’s compiled a 6-0 record in title fights, collecting five fight-night bonuses in those six scraps.

Makhachev has 13 wins by submission, 10 via decision and five by knockout.

The 28-year-old Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) will have a five-inch height advantage and a four-inch edge in reach. He’s also the younger man by six years.

Garry won his first 15 career fights before dropping a narrow UD loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in the UFC 310 co-main event on Dec. 7 of 2024. The undefeated Rakhmonov hasn’t fought since due to multiple long-term injuries that’ll keep him sidelined until 2027.

Garry has responded with back-to-back wins over Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad. Garry held off a late-charging Prates in the UFC Kansas City headliner in April of 2025 to win a UD (48-47, 48-47, 49-46).

Next, he beat Muhammad, the former welterweight champion, via UD (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) last November in the UFC Qatar co-main event.

In the UFC 330 co-main event, strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern will defend her belt for the first time against fifth-ranked Gillian Robertson. Dern won the vacant 115-pound strap by defeating Virna Jandiroba via UD (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) at UFC 321 last October.

DraftKings has Dern listed as a -155 favorite with Robertson at +130 on the comeback.

This will be the UFC’s first trip back to Philadelphia since Justin Gaethje beat Edson Barboza by first-round KO in the UFC on ESPN 2 main event in March of 2019.