Islam
Makhachev has named the ideal next challenger for his
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title.

Makhachev retained his belt with a hard-fought victory over
Ian
Garry at UFC
330 in Philadelphia. The Russian revealed that Carlos
Prates is the preferred next opponent after recording his first
title defense at welterweight.

Islam Makhachev backs Carlos Prates for next UFC welterweight
title shot

Prates and Michael
Morales, who were both in attendance at UFC 330, are in the
running for the next title shot, with Makhachev believing the
Brazilian currently has the stronger case. He dismissed Shavkat
Rakhmonov, who's been sidelined with injuries since December
2024, and Morales, who hasn't been as active as Prates.

“If you ask me today, Shavkat [Rakhmonov] is not fighting; Prates
is still fighting, still active,†Makhachev said during the
Paramount+ post-fight show. “Morales also is good, but I don't
remember the last time he fought. If you ask who is more deserving,
I think Carlos Prates.â€

Morales and Rakhmonov are both unbeaten, while Prates holds a
record of 24-7. The latter's last loss came against Garry in April
2025, but he has remained active since then, picking up finishes
against Geoff Neal
and two former champs: Leon
Edwards and Jack
Della Maddalena.

In case you missed it last night… 👀

Islam
Makhachev believes that Carlos
Prates has done enough to earn the next shot at welterweight ðŸ†
pic.twitter.com/b33GmpAvY0

— UFC on Paramount+ (@UFConParamount)
August 16, 2026

Mackenzie
Dern has already started looking ahead after defending her

Ultimate Fighting Championship title.

Dern (17-5) thoroughly outclassed Gillian
Robertson at UFC
330, using her grappling to secure a unanimous decision and
retain the strawweight belt in Philadelphia. She's now name-dropped
who could be next in line for a title shot.

Mackenzie Dern names Weili Zhang, Tatiana Suarez and Lupita
Godinez as possible UFC title challengers

When asked in a post-fight interview who she could face next, Dern
initially admitted she's unsure. She claimed the next challenger
for the 115-pound throne could be Tatiana
Suarez (12-1), Lupita
Godinez (14-6), or former champ Weili Zhang
(26-4).

“I know there's Tatiana, Weili… Who else? Lupita could be coming up
pretty soon,†Dern said.

Godinez is unlikely next in line, having lost three of her last
five bouts. Moreover, the Mexican contender has already lost to
Dern.

Suarez previously challenged for UFC gold, losing to Zhang in
February last year. The former then bounced back with two wins,
beating Amanda
Lemos and Godinez. Meanwhile, Zhang vacated the title after
beating Suarez to challenge for the women's flyweight title, but
lost to current 125-pound queen Valentina
Shevchenko.

“It feels amazing to be able to hold onto my
belt.â€

Mackenzie
Dern (@MackenzieDern)
speaks about her first title defense and what she thinks might come
next for her. #UFC330

Complete Main Card Results âž¡ï¸ https://t.co/abo02MZ0Ja

Official Scorecards: https://t.co/NIwLltOSjw pic.twitter.com/HQG6ey17uJ

— UFC News (@UFCNews)
August 16, 2026

Ian
Garry has no intention of dwelling on his failed title bid in
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship against Islam
Makhachev.

Garry came up short against Makhachev in the UFC
330 main event in Philadelphia, dropping a unanimous decision
after a hard-fought five-round battle. The Russian retained the
welterweight championship and extended his winning streak in the
UFC to 17 straight victories, a new record. Nevertheless, the
challenger is encouraged by his performance and what the future
holds for him.

Ian Garry addresses UFC 330 loss and promises to come back
stronger

Garry believes his performance against Makhachev showed that he
belongs at the highest level of the sport.

“Tonight wasn't my night,†Garry said on Instagram. “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 going to be back.â€

The former
Cage Warriors champ then emphasized that he's yet to enter his
prime and still pushed the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter to the
limit.

“I'm not disheartened by this,†Garry continued. “I'm bulletproof
in my mind. I'm 28 years of age; I just fought maybe the greatest
fighter we've ever seen in this sport and I pushed him to the
f*cking 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. Tonight was
not my night.â€

Garry then congratulated Makhachev before revealing his excitement
in future matchups.

“Islam, your team, congratulations,†he added. “Your guys did
amazing. I have nothing but love and respect for everything you
guys have done in this sport; I said that to you. I'll be back.
There's plenty of matchups in this sport, plenty of fun matchups
that I'm excited for. We'll be back and we'll be better than ever.
I love you all, let's go, baby.â€

The defeat marks just the second loss of Garry’s career. He began
his professional career 15-0, winning his first eight UFC bouts
before suffering his first defeat against Shavkat
Rakhmonov. Garry bounced back with wins over Belal
Muhammad and Carlos
Prates before earning his title shot.