Kamaru
Usman believes he is a dangerous stylistic matchup for Islam
Makhachev.

Makhachev put his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title on the line
for the first time against Ian Garry at
UFC
330. While he retained his belt via unanimous decision, the
Dagestani champion was pushed to the limit and had to dig deep.
After his second welterweight bout, Usman claims he can beat
Makhachev if they were matched up.

Kamaru Usman backs his style against Islam Makhachev after UFC
330

While Usman acknowledges the new crop of contenders at
welterweight, the former champ believes he remains a serious threat
to Makhachev.

“There are really good guys coming up that are going to turn into
killers,†Usman said on the “Pound 4 Pound†podcast. “But right
now, being honest with you, with all the styles that I see and the
MMA mathematics… How it works out, I felt that, hey, styles make
fights, I'm telling you guys, I can get that done.â€

Usman was rallying for a title shot against Makhachev when the
latter dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena last November. Even Makhachev acknowledged “The
Nigerian Nightmare†as his biggest threat at the time. However,
Usman's lengthy Octagon hiatus saw contenders like Garry, Carlos
Prates and Michael
Morales overtake him in the pecking order at 170 pounds.

Usman (21-5) lost his welterweight title in a shock knockout upset
to Leon
Edwards in 2022 and lost the rematch the following year. Usman
then suffered a hard-fought majority-decision loss in a
middleweight bout against Khamzat
Chimaev.

The former champ then dropped back to welterweight and returned
after a 20-month hiatus to beat Joaquin
Buckley last year. After unsuccessfully rallying for a title
shot against Makhachev, Usman moved back up to middleweight and
suffered a unanimous decision loss against Dricus Du
Plessis.

Muhammad
Mokaev claims four elite opponents turned down a grappling
match against him.

Mokaev says he accepted four grappling bouts in a week against
former One
Championship titleholder Adriano
Moraes and
Ultimate Fighting Championship flyweights Asu
Almabayev, Alibi
Idiris and Ramazonbek
Temirov. He alleges that all four opponents agreed to fight
him, only to pull out the very next day.

Former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev details a ‘crazy week' of
failed grappling matchups

Mokaev eventually secured a grappling matchup against Moris
Boleian. They will compete for the ACBJJ 60kg Grand Title on Aug.
30 at Ora Arena in Istanbul, Turkey.

“It was crazy week,†the former UFC flyweight wrote on X. “Signed
to compete 4 names in 1 week (Adriano Moraes, Asu Almabayev, Alibi
Idiris & Ramazan Temirov) And they all too but next day the didn't
want to. At the end only this guy accepted.â€

Mokaev (16-0) has finished three of his four MMA wins and one in
Karate Combat since his UFC exit in 2024. The undefeated flyweight
is also active on the grappling circuit, where he suffered a loss
against a much bigger Arman
Tsarukyan in his last match. Meanwhile, Boleian (8-1) has
finished all eight of his professional wins via submission before
suffering his lone career loss via split decision at UAE Warriors
this past January.

It was crazy week 😄
Signed to compete 4 names in 1 week (Adriano
Moraes, Asu
Almabayev, Alibi Idris & Ramazan Temirov)
And they all too but next day the didn't want to 🤷ðŸ»â€â™‚ï¸
At the end only this guy accepted pic.twitter.com/DHhUBxIAFe

— Muhammad
Mokaev (@muhammadmokaev)
August 17, 2026

UFC superstar Conor McGregor shared his first thoughts on Ian Machado Garry's unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev.

Ian Machado Garry's first shot at UFC gold fell short last weekend at UFC 330. UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev successfully defended his title against Garry, defeating the rising star by unanimous decision.

Garry's loss snapped a recent run of success in the Octagon that featured wins over Carlos Prates and former titleholder Belal Muhammad. The former Cage Warriors champ is considered the ‘future' of the UFC's welterweight division.

Despite suffering from the jaws of defeat, Garry received support from around Mixed Martial Arts, including from his hero Conor McGregor.

Conor McGregor shows support for Ian Machado Garry after UFC 330 loss

In a recent video uploaded to Instagram, Garry shared his first remarks after his loss to Makhachev, to which McGregor replied.

“Tonight wasn't my night,†Garry said.

“I feel great, I did great, Islam was just better than me tonight, and that's OK. I want everybody who loves me and supports me and wants to see me do better, I want you to know that I'm gonna be back. I'm not disheartened by this. I'm bulletproof in my mind. I'll be back. I'm 28 years of age. I just fought arguably the greatest fighter we've ever seen in this sport – and I pushed him to the f—— wire, and I'm so proud of myself, and I'm so proud of my team, and everything that we've done.

“I'm so proud of what I've done in this world and who I've become; nobody's stopping me,†Garry continued.

After Garry's comments went viral, McGregor showed his support for his fellow Irishman.

“Champion mindset!†McGregor commented.

McGregor's UFC 329 comeback lasted mere seconds last month after injuring his right leg against Max Holloway. Before UFC 329, McGregor teased a potential future showdown with Garry for the UFC welterweight title, a plan which is now off the table.

Who should Ian Machado Garry fight next after UFC 330? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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