Chris Weidman sees welterweight champion Islam Makhachev frustrating Ian Machado Garry at UFC 330.
Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) makes his first title defense against Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) in the Aug. 15 main event at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia (Paramount+). Makhachev claimed the welterweight title at UFC 322 by taking down Jack Della Maddalena four times and controlling him for more than 19 minutes.
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“I think this is going to be a really stressful fight for Ian Garry,” Weidman said on “Deep Waters.” “I don’t think he’s going to be as comfortable because he’s going to be sh*tting his pants about the takedown because he sees how good Islam is on the ground, and Islam is going to throw hard on the feet, too.”
Machado Garry has been criticized for his fighting style, which Weidman believes will benefit him against Makhachev.
“The best thing that he’s got going for him is that he’s not afraid to have a boring fight,” Weidman said of Machado Garry. “He’s not afraid to use footwork, run non-stop. He has no problem running from you the whole damn time.”
The former UFC middleweight champion mapped Machado Garry’s best chance of getting his hand raised.
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“I think the best chance he has is to run and frustrate Islam into bad shots, bad takedown offense, also bad strikes on the feet because he’s overreaching, because Islam is used to dominating,” Weidman said of Machado Garry. “He wants to just go in there, take him down and submit him or beat him up on the feet. If this fight is slow and boring, I think Islam will make some mistake.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Chris Weidman: Ian Machado Garry will be ‘sh*tting his pants’ vs. Islam Makhachev
