White slams Garry's fifth-round handshakes as Makhachev defends welterweight title at UFC 330

Islam Makhachev defended the UFC welterweight title at UFC 330 by controlling Ian Machado Garry in the fifth round, securing a takedown and riding out the finish to extend his record-breaking winning streak to 17 consecutive UFC victories — surpassing Anderson Silva’s all-time mark.

The fight was closer than many anticipated. Makhachev led on the scorecards heading into the championship round, but Garry had hurt him repeatedly to the body and the right side of his face was visibly marked. What happened next is what drew the ire of UFC CEO Dana White.

Rather than opening the final round aggressively, Garry exchanged handshakes and embraces with Makhachev at the centre of the cage — a moment of sportsmanship that White found deeply frustrating given what was at stake.

“I felt like Ian is a talented guy,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “If he had even an ounce of killer instinct in that fifth round — he had been beating him to the body, Islam’s whole right side was beat up, his face was beat up. You don’t come out and hug and shake hands in the fifth round. That shit drives me f*cking crazy.”

White argued that a more aggressive opening to the round could have changed its entire complexion, pointing to the moment Makhachev exploded off the fence to secure the decisive takedown.

“If he came out and tried to destroy and win that last round with everything that he had, it’s a totally different fight,” White said. “[Islam] exploded up and got his back and once he took his back and put the hooks in, that’s a wrap. He’s going to ride that out until the round ends.”

White was equally generous in his assessment of Makhachev, crediting the champion for doing precisely what was required against a bigger, rangier opponent with solid takedown defence.

“Against a bigger, strong, rangy guy who has good takedown defense, [Islam] controlled him, shut him down,” White said. “Islam did exactly what he needed to do to win that fight.”

Despite his criticism of Garry’s tactics, White acknowledged that the Irishman had genuinely threatened the upset — a fact that made the fifth-round passivity all the more difficult to accept.

“This is my honest opinion: I felt like tonight was set up for the upset,” White said. “I felt like the upset could happen tonight with so much on the line.”

Makhachev’s 17th straight UFC win cements his place in the record books, while Garry is left to reflect on whether a different approach in those final five minutes might have delivered him a first world title.