Co-Main Event: Champion Mackenzie Dern (16-5) Versus Gillian “The Savage” Robertson (17-8), 5 Rounds For The Women’s UFC Strawweight Championship
The first of two title fights brings a fun battle between two of the best female submission experts in the UFC. Dern is a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and is dangerous in any ground position. She is exceptional at capitalizing on scrambles and transitions, so she will be looking for an opening to lock in a submission.
Robertson’s strength in grappling comes from wrestling and top control. “The Savage” lives up to her nickname with how well she can hold a dominant position and wait for a mistake to get a finish.
As it usually goes with two elite grapplers, the fight may have more moments of standing and striking as they cancel each other’s strengths out. Robertson may be the more physically strong of the two, but Dern is adept at working off her back, which will make her opponent more cautious.
The deciding factor will be Dern’s improved striking, which helped her win the title. As the more well-rounded fighter and riding on the confidence of being a champion, Dern will ultimately pull out the decision victory. Here’s hoping there will be lots of grappling on display. Prediction: Dern By Unanimous Decision
UFC 330 Event Gives Machado Garry His Shot At Gold Against An All-Time Great
Champion Islam Makhachev (28-1) Versus Ian “The Future” Machado Garry (17-1), 5 Rounds For The UFC Welterweight Championship
This is the hardest fight on the card to predict. Makhachev is a phenomenal fighter, known for his suffocating grappling style and elite striking skills. He is the UFC’s number-one pound-for-pound fighter in the rankings, dominating almost every opponent in his path.
Now the champ at welterweight after a historic title reign in the lightweight division, Makhachev is looking to add another chapter to his legacy.
He faces a formidable challenge in Machdo Garry, who is an elite fighter in his own right. “The Future” has always been confident that he would get to this point and plans to fulfil the promise he made to become a champion. He has the mindset and the skills to do it against one of the best in UFC history.
Machado Garry is the younger of the two combatants and will have a significant size advantage at 6’3 (five inches taller) and a reach of 74.5 (4 inches longer). He’s also very fast and technical as a striker and has displayed elite fight IQ in the octagon against strong competition.
Makhachev will look to close the distance and drag the challenger to the ground to dominate. Machado Garry will have to be able to resist takedowns and work back up whenever he gets taken down. This matchup resembles the main event from UFC 328, where Sean Strickland was able to spoil the prediction and pull off a shocker.
Machado Garry will look the best he’s ever looked and have some great moments. He could very well win this fight and make it look easy on his end. It is just hard to pick against all-time greatness. The champion will be able to dictate the action with his grappling and win a close decision. Prediction: Makhachev By Split Decision
