Islam Makhachev retained the UFC welterweight championship Saturday, defeating Ian Machado Garry by unanimous decision in the UFC 330 main event in Philadelphia.
In the co-headliner, Mackenzie Dern cruised past Gillian Robertson to record her first strawweight title defense.
Here are four takeaways from the event.
Makhachev looked human against Garry
Makhachev did what he needed to do to beat Garry and win his 17th fight in a row, breaking Anderson Silva's record for the longest winning streak in UFC history. But boy, it wasn't easy.
Garry hung in there with Makhachev, the sport's top pound-for-pound fighter, for all five rounds. He even outlanded his opponent in total and significant strikes (while, of course, giving up over 12 minutes of control time). And as UFC CEO Dana White pointed out at the postfight press conference, had Garry stepped on the gas a bit more in the later rounds as Makhachev struggled to land takedowns, we might've gotten another title-fight upset in a year full of them.
In the end, it wasn't meant to be for Ireland's favorite welterweight. But Garry should still be proud of his performance. If you look back at Makhachev's record, this was one of the only competitive fights that the 34-year-old Dagestani has experienced throughout his winning streak, which began in 2016. Most of the time, Makhachev runs through his opponents, but that wasn't the case here.
For the first time since the first Alexander Volkanovski fight three-and-a-half years ago, Makhachev looked a bit vulnerable. Not vulnerable enough to lose - which is, obviously, the most important part - but vulnerable enough that Carlos Prates and Michael Morales probably feel all right about their chances if they get the next title shot.
This might just be the new reality for Makhachev. He dominated and finished many of his opponents at lightweight, but welterweight is a different beast.
Nonetheless, Makhachev is closing in on GOAT status
All of that said, there is no denying Makhachev's greatness after this victory. It's difficult to string together eight, nine, or 10 wins in the Octagon, never mind 17 - including several at the championship level. During his lightweight title reign, Makhachev faced some criticism for defending the belt against a bunch of former featherweights. But now that he's beaten the 6-foot-3 Garry, it's safe to say he's just that good.
It's worth mentioning that Makhachev is also the fifth fighter to successfully defend UFC titles in two weight classes, joining Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, Amanda Nunes, and Jon Jones. Pretty good company.
He still has more work to do to catch up to Jones in the GOAT conversation, but Makhachev is getting closer with every win - and at this rate, he might just do it.
Dern-Zhang is a must
Robertson looked outmatched against Dern right from the opening bell. And that largely remained true, even though Robertson did win the fifth round. Dern dominated the majority of the bout with a mix of grappling and striking.
As a result, I couldn't help but think about former strawweight champion Zhang Weili throughout the fight - and how it would've been a lot more compelling to see her in there with Dern.
That fight needs to happen next. We still don't know when or if Zhang will return to the UFC, but for the sake of the 115-pound division, hopefully she does. Dern was impressive against Robertson and seems to still be getting better more than eight years into her Octagon career. But she won't be considered the best strawweight in the world until she gets a chance to prove it against Zhang - or Zhang announces she won't come back to the weight class.
Dern-Zhang is the most interesting fight in the division by a mile. It's a must.
Turner poised to make a run at 155 pounds
I said it before the fight and I'll say it again now: At his best, Jalin Turner is one of the top lightweights on the planet. And sure enough, he delivered one of the most violent performances of the night, knocking out Kaue Fernandes with a left hook in 39 seconds.
Turner has experienced his fair share of ups and downs throughout his eight-year UFC career, but it feels like he's finally ready to make a deep run in the 155-pound division after yet another explosive victory. A fight with Benoit Saint Denis or Rafael Fiziev would be a great measuring stick to see exactly where Turner is.
