UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov believes that Ian Machado Garry will be a “difficult fight” for Islam Makhachev.

The UFC welterweight champion Makhachev puts his title on the line for the very first time when he defends it against Machado Garry in the main event of UFC 330, which takes place on August 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

While Makhachev has won 16 fights in a row and is the No. 1 pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world right now, Machado Garry presents certain difficulties that other opponents before him have not, and his coach and training partner, Nurmagomedov, believes he can’t take this fight for granted.

Ian Machado Garry Is a ‘Difficult Fight’ for Islam Makhachev

Speaking to Smol Talk, Nurmagomedov shared his thoughts on the upcoming UFC 330 title fight between Machado Garry and Makhachev.

“(Machado Garry) runs a lot, his strikes come from a long distance. We’ve never faced an opponent this tall — 190+ cm (6’3″). We’ll have to chase him, close the distance, grab him, and take him down. It will be a difficult fight. Islam is almost 35,” Nurmagomedov said.

Islam Makhachev Favored to Defeat Ian Machado Garry

While Nurmagomedov certainly respects Machado Garry’s abilities, and rightly so, his pupil is still a significant betting favorite to win this fight.

According to the latest betting odds, Makhachev is a -350 betting favorite, while Machado Garry is a +285 betting underdog. The fight is still a month away, so there is still time for this line to shift a bit, but it does feel like Makhachev is going to enter the fight as the favorite.

After all, he’s won 16 straight fights and is looking to break the UFC’s all-time win streak record of 16 that he shares with the legend, Anderson Silva. If he beats Machado Garry at UFC 330, then the record will be his all alone.

Of course, Machado Garry is not going to be an easy fight, as he has won his last two fights over top-ranked welterweights Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad. But he still hasn’t proven he’s a UFC championship-level talent yet, which is why Makhachev is the favorite.

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Robert Whittaker revealed new details about how he envisions retiring from MMA after his latest victory at UFC 329. Whittaker moved up to light heavyweight and secured an impressive 3rd round TKO over Nikita Krylov.

The former UFC middleweight champion’s move up to 205 pounds came after back-to-back losses. His win over Krylov snapped his losing skid and created some intriguing options for his next bout.

Whittaker admitted that he does not believe he has many fights left despite a successful light heavyweight debut. However, he revealed that his retirement will be well thought out and confirmed ahead of time rather than being a spur-of-the-moment decision.

“I definitely have a few more [fights] in me. A few is three” Whittaker told The Ariel Helwani Show. “My fight time right now is as long as I’m enjoying it.”

He continued:

“As soon as I reach the point where I’m starting to drag my feet again, where it’s hard for me to get to training and hard for me to enjoy it, I’ll announce my retirement on an Australian card and make that my last fight and fight out my last one,” he said. “I want to do that properly, I want to sail off into the sunset the right way, I want to finish my career in my home country.”

Robert Whittaker Opens Up About Preparation for Light Heavyweight Debut at UFC 329

Robert Whittaker also opened up about his preparation for his light heavyweight debut against Nikita Krylov at UFC 329.

Whittaker, 35, was aware of the discussion within the MMA community regarding his move to 205 pounds. He noted that he prepared for a difficult test and was already anxious ahead of the fight.

“I already had a lot of nerves coming into this fight, coming off back-to-back losses. And then, the middleweight moves up to light heavyweight, everyone’s seen how this story ends a thousand times,” Whittaker told The Ariel Helwani Show. “There was a lot of self-imposed pressure, along with the nerves and everything else. Then, seeing all the comments and reading people saying I was too small or too short.”

He continued:

“It was one of those moments where you just have to feed the belief and starve the doubt, and listen to the circle that’s important to you. Listen to the ones that matter and the ones that have the informed information and informed decisions. And yeah, just keep working.”

Whittaker Eyeing UFC Light Heavyweight Title Shot

After Whittaker successfully made his light heavyweight debut, he revealed that he has his sights set on a title shot.

Given the current landscape of the UFC‘s light heavyweight division, Whittaker believes that a title fight could be within reach. He said another impressive performance could position him well in the title picture.

“I think at light heavyweight, especially with [Alex] Pereira moving out, and guys getting injured, there’s just been a shuffle of names in the division. It’s rife with opportunity,” Whittaker told The Ariel Helwani Show. “Literally, I could be one good performance away from fighting for the title.”

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Dustin Poirier said that he wants to fight Conor McGregor for a fourth time, and he is open to coming out of retirement for this matchup.

Poirier and McGregor have fought three times, with Poirier holding the overall edge in the series 2-1. But after exchanging clean knockout wins in their first two bouts, Poirier’s second win over McGregor in the pair’s trilogy bout ended via injury TKO when McGregor broke his leg at UFC 264.

So, a fourth fight has always been seen as a possibility, and after McGregor lost via injury TKO once again, this time to Max Holloway at UFC 329, the chances of a fourth fight between him and Poirier went up, since it’s one of the few fights the UFC could promote for McGregor right now given how low his stock is following two straight injury TKO losses in his last two bouts.

Dustin Poirier Wants Conor McGregor Again

Speaking on the “Deep Waters” podcast, Poirier said that he wants to come out of retirement and fight McGregor for the fourth time.

“I’ll tell you what, whenever he is healed up, hit me up, Conor. I’ll come back and whip you again,” Poirier said.

“I would come back to whip him again at 170.”

Would the UFC Book a Fourth Fight?

There has only ever been one other quadrilogy in UFC history, between former UFC flyweight champions Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno. This is not something the UFC usually does, but in the case of Figueiredo and Moreno, there was a draw mixed in there, making a fourth fight between the two flyweight rivals necessary to break their deadlock.

With McGregor and Poirier, we already know that Poirier is up 2-1 in the series. But once again, the third fight ended via injury TKO, so the UFC does have a convenient, built-in excuse for potentially booking a quadrilogy between the two men.

We’ll see what the UFC ends up doing with McGregor and if Poirier actually decides to come out of retirement to fight him for a fourth time, but it’s certainly a possibility, and one you shouldn’t write off.

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UFC lightweight star Paddy Pimblett made a bold prediction for a potential matchup against UFC BMF champion Charles Oliveira.

Pimblett earned his most impressive victory to date when he submitted Benoit Saint Denis via first-round D’Arce choke in the co-main event of UFC 329. It was a violent finish by Pimblett, as he choked his opponent unconscious after snatching up his neck.

Riding high after beating Saint Denis, Pimblett now wants to take on even greater challenges in his UFC career, including potentially fighting Oliveira, the sport’s all-time submission master.

Paddy Pimblett Says He Would Submit Charles Oliveira

Speaking to the media in the UFC 329 post-fight press conference, Pimblett said that he would not only beat Oliveira, but that he would finish him by submission.

“I’d submit Charles. I’ve got nothing but respect for Charles, know what I mean? He’s an absolute legend in this sport. But he’s on his way out. And I think if he tries to grapple with me, I’d submit him. But we’d probably end up having a war for five rounds on the feet if I ever fight with Charles Oliveira,” Pimblett said.

While Oliveira does have 22 wins by submission in his MMA career, he has been submitted four times, including submission defeats to Jim Miller, Ricardo Lamas, Anthony Pettis, and Islam Makhachev. So while he is incredibly dangerous when he’s the one who is attacking with submissions, Oliveira does not have the best submission defense in the world, and Pimblett believes he could take advantage of that being the case.

Will the UFC Book Paddy Pimblett vs. Charles Oliveira?

Pimblett has made it clear that he is interested in fighting Oliveira next, so the question is, would the UFC matchmakers book this fight?

It’s certainly possible, as both Pimblett and Oliveira don’t have their next opponents lined up yet. It also makes sense based on the rankings, as both men are in the top five at 155 lbs.

The fact that the BMF title could also be on the line makes the bout even more intriguing, especially after Oliveira’s last fight against Max Holloway, where he won the BMF belt over Max Holloway at UFC 324.

That was not the fight that anyone expected, as Oliveira essentially laid on top of Holloway for five rounds as he played it safe and won the BMF title. But against Pimblett, Oliveira won’t have the same opportunity to just lay and pray, since Pimblett has one of the best ground games in the division and could potentially counter Oliveira on the mat.

We will see what the UFC does next, but either way, Pimblett has put himself in a terrific position to have a huge fight in his next bout as he looks to get back into the title mix at 155 lbs and potentially fight UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje in a rematch after Pimblett lost a decision to Gaethje at UFC 324. But there is no doubt a matchup between Pimblett and Oliveira would be a lot of fun.

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