UFC 330 rolled into the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia with a heavyweight main event on paper -- Islam Makhachev defending the welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry -- but the early card is what had the building rocking. West Philly's own Jeremiah Wells opened the show, and Neil Magny followed him with a vintage stoppage of his own. Two 39-year-olds, back-to-back, both walking out with their hand raised.
Wells was hand-picked to kick off the card in his hometown, a full-circle moment for a guy who used to work events at that same building back when it was still the Wells Fargo Center. He got outworked early against Myktybek Orolbai before turning it around with a third-round guillotine that put Orolbai to sleep -- his sixth UFC win in 8 appearances. Barstool's crew were losing it in real time.
JEREMIAH WELLS OMG THAT WAS NASTY!!! THE HOMETOWN KID!!! GIVE HIM A BONUS!!! #UFC330
Robbie Fox had the crowd's reaction dialed in too, calling it the epitome of Philly fighting -- the kind of gutsy, never-say-die scrap the city eats up. He'd flagged a live longshot on the broadcast, +2800 to win by submission, before Wells went and delivered exactly that finish.
That was insane. Epitome of Philly fighting right there. Don't count the underdog out. +2800 to win by submission.
Right behind him, Neil Magny added another chapter to what's already the most decorated welterweight resume in UFC history. Magny -- who holds the promotion's welterweight wins record -- got outgrappled for a round by Ramiz Brahimaj before flipping the script in round 2 and pouring on ground-and-pound until the referee stepped in. It's the kind of grinding, experience-over-everything win that's defined his whole career.
Neil MF Magny! Put some respect on his name! Classic performance #UFC330
Robbie Fox summed up the theme of the night before the main event even started: back-to-back finishes from two guys pushing 40, on a card headlined by a 28-year-old title challenger in Ian Garry. It's the kind of contrast that makes MMA fun -- the young gun chasing gold while the vets remind everyone why they're still on the roster.
Back-to-back wins by 39 year olds to kick off #UFC330. Night of the vets!
That set the stage for Garry, who came in as a betting underdog against pound-for-pound No. 1 Makhachev. Barstool's own DoubleVodkaDon called Philly an elite fight town and predicted Garry would make it a closer fight than the numbers suggested -- with two vets already delivering violence on the undercard, the building was primed for exactly that kind of night.
Time for fights. Great main event. Think Ian Garry makes this a closer fight than most people think. Philly is an elite fight town. Give us violence! #UFC330