UFC 330 was billed as a card that didn't look great on paper, and the crowd at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia spent the night proving that theory wrong fight after fight. By the time Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry walked out for the main event, the building was already rocking off a string of finishes, and the title fight somehow found a way to top all of it.
It didn't look the best on paper but #UFC330 has been pretty fucking awesome
It started early. Philly's own Jeremiah Wells got a hero's welcome and delivered, coming back to finish Myktybek Orolbai with a submission after reportedly being down on the cards, a moment that had the hometown crowd losing it. He wasn't the only vet who showed out early, either -- Neil Magny picked up a win to open the card as well, part of what fans were calling a night of the 39-year-olds.
JEREMIAH WELLS OMG THAT WAS NASTY!!! THE HOMETOWN KID!!! GIVE HIM A BONUS!!! #UFC330
The finishes kept coming from there. Lucas Fernando looked like a real problem at light heavyweight, Donte Johnson scored a violent knockout that had fans buzzing, and Charles Johnson pulled off a bizarre, out-of-nowhere finish that had the crowd howling. Throw in a wild scrap involving Dustin Stoltzfus and a legend like Edson Barboza reportedly hanging up his gloves, and UFC 330 had already delivered a night's worth of drama before the main event even started.
Neil MF Magny! Put some respect on his name! Classic performance #UFC330
Then came Makhachev-Garry, and it turned into exactly the kind of fight a pay-per-view main event is supposed to be. According to CBS Sports, the judges scored it a unanimous decision for Makhachev, 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47, giving the Dagestani his 17th straight UFC win and, notably, making him just the fifth fighter in UFC history to defend a title in two different divisions. But the scorecards undersell how close it got.
A head kick from Islam Makhachev staggers Ian Garry in Round 2 before the fight hits the mat, with Makhachev landing on top.
That kick, landed in the second round, was the pivot point of the entire fight -- and everyone watching live knew it in real time. Garry was reportedly building momentum in that round before eating it, and while he survived, it looked like it cost him the frame and maybe more. From there, Garry actually started clawing his way back into things, with fans scoring the fourth round a coin flip and even leaning Garry's way given the volume he was landing, while Makhachev's grappling wasn't doing much damage on the mat.
By the fifth round, though, Makhachev did what Makhachev does -- he found another gear when it mattered most, reasserting himself late to close the show and keep the belt. It's the kind of response that keeps him firmly in the pound-for-pound number one conversation, and it means Garry, for all the momentum he built in the back half of the fight, is left wondering what happens if he doesn't get caught by that second-round kick. Philadelphia got a statement-heavy card from top to bottom, and the main event turned into a legitimate five-round war that lived up to a night that started as a total wildcard and ended as one of the better UFC cards of the year.