Makhachev opens as heavy -365 favourite to defend welterweight title against Garry at UFC 330

Islam Makhachev has been installed as a heavy -365 favourite to retain his UFC welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330, scheduled for 15 August at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The UFC confirmed both that main event and a strawweight title rematch between champion Mackenzie Dern and Gillian Robertson on the same card.

Opening odds from BetOnline.Ag place Garry as a +300 underdog — implying roughly a 78.5% probability that Makhachev successfully defends. The champion is riding a 16-fight win streak inside the UFC, a record he shares with Anderson Silva, and is coming off a dominant performance against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 in his first fight since moving up to welterweight.

Garry arrives on a two-fight winning run, but both victories have come against credible opposition. The Irish welterweight defeated Carlos Prates before outpointing former champion Belal Muhammad by decision in November, results that earned him the title shot.

The co-main event pits Dern against Robertson in what will be the Brazilian’s first defence of the strawweight belt she claimed in October. Dern won the vacant title with a decision over Virna Jandiroba at UFC 321 and enters as a -210 favourite, giving her an implied 67% chance of retaining. Robertson, meanwhile, has won five consecutive fights, most recently stopping Amanda Lemos in March, and figures to present a stern grappling challenge for the multiple-time BJJ world champion.

UFC 330 takes place on 15 August at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.