Russian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Islam Makhachev defeated Irishman Ian Machado Harry in a difficult fight and set the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) record for the number of victories in a row. The author of RIA Novosti Sport talks about everything that surrounded the main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia, and shares how the historical confrontation turned out for Russian sports.
Islam's most dangerous rival
This is precisely the description given to the scandalous Garry before the meeting with the first number of the league rating, regardless of weight categories (P4P). This is because Garry has a lot of experience in the UFC (only one defeat in a close fight with Shavkat Rakhmonov with ten wins), good defense against transfers and more than good striking technique... Most importantly, Ian, who is six years younger than the favorite, has a big advantage in size over the 34-year-old Makhachev. It's no joke, the Irishman is more than ten centimeters taller than the Russian, plus he has a similar advantage in arm span.
What keys will the Dagestani pick up for the contender from Dublin? Can Harry escape the fight? And will Ian's nasty blows to the knees and long-range work for points become a problem for Islam?
Finally, the main intrigue of UFC 330
Will Khabib Nurmagomedov's successor be able to overtake the legendary Anderson Spider Silva and set the promotion's all-time record for most victories in a row? At the start of the fight against Garry, the Russian and the Brazilian each had 16 victories in a row.
Note that the record could be repeated (and then broken) in 2022, when the dominant welterweight champion Kamaru Usman once again defended the belt and was extremely close to catching up with the Spider... He was separated from his sixteenth victory by just one minute! But no, Briton Leon Edwards, who was completely losing the fight, kicked the American’s head. And the light went out in the eyes of the Nigerian Nightmare.
So Usman lost the title and stopped at 15 victories in a row.
Harry was expectedly surprised
But his preparation for pressure from Islam was not enough to create a sensation.
Throughout the first round, Ian, having briefly fought on the floor, successfully fought off the champion at the cage, not allowing himself to be knocked down. However, in the second, the Conor McGregor fan had a hard time: on the way out, Islam caught him with a high kick, and Ian was knocked down by a kick to the head. But he recovered and, despite serious damage, survived until the break.
Confident 2-0 in rounds in favor of the Russian.
In the third five-minute period, Ian was resurrected. He delivered cool kicks to the knees and to the head, more than once causing the arena to gasp in surprise. And, in an amicable way, this round remained with the challenger. 2-1.
Islam realized that he was giving too much freedom to the underdog, and “dried up” the fight a little in the fourth round. However, even if Islam took him (3-1), then before the decisive period there was still fear for him. Because in terms of endurance, Garry did not seem to sag at all, and the blows did not lose power.
Fortunately for our fans, the fifth round turned out to be dominant for the champion (final 4-1). He not only moved Harry, but also went behind him, slamming his feet into the lock on his lower back. It became clear: the Russian would not let his opponent go. Will the Irishman survive until the siren, or will he fall into a choke hold? It’s commendable that I didn’t make a mistake in defense. But he still lost by unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47), giving a very difficult fight to the newly created record holder, who has not lost since 2015 for 17 fights.
The record has fallen!
17 — ISLAM MAKHACHEV
16 - Anderson Silva
15 - Kamaru Usman
14 – Merab Dvalishvili
13 - Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones, Demetrius Johnson, Max Holloway
And after such success, no one would be surprised if Makhachev, who achieved everything in the brutal sport of fighting, with the tricolor on his shoulders, put his gloves in the center of the octagon as a sign of his retirement. But no, this did not happen - Makhachev intends to continue.
