UFC 330 fight card predictions: Expert picks, odds for Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Garry in Philadelphia
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- Islam Makhachev (c) faces Ian Machado Garry in Saturday's UFC 330 welterweight title main event in Philadelphia, with Makhachev listed as a -360 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook (as of Aug. 14)
- A victory would push Makhachev's undefeated UFC streak to 17 straight wins, surpassing Anderson Silva's consecutive-wins record set 14 years ago
- Mackenzie Dern defends her women's strawweight title against Gillian Robertson in the co-main at -218, a fight CBS Sports' Brent Brookhouse expects to feature 25 minutes of "bad kickboxing"
- CBS Sports' four-expert panel split 3-1, with Brian Campbell, Brookhouse, and Shakiel Mahjouri backing Makhachev while Brandon Wise picked Garry by decision; Campbell acknowledged Garry's 5-inch height and 4-inch reach advantages but questioned whether he can hurt elite opposition
- Shakiel Mahjouri said Javier Mendez, Makhachev's coach, convinced him to expect a more aggressive champion than the one who "coasted through five rounds" in his welterweight debut
- Undercard highlights include Jalin Turner vs Kauê Fernandes at lightweight, Mansur Abdul-Malik (-675) vs Dustin Stoltzfus at middleweight, and a lightweights opener between Esteban Ribovics and veteran Edson Barboza
Why it matters: Makhachev (-360) can break Anderson Silva's 14-year-old consecutive UFC wins record with a 17th straight victory Saturday, yet the CBS panel's lone dissenter picked Garry outright and a colleague called him a "very live dog" — Garry's 5-inch height and 4-inch reach edges are the kind of physical problem Makhachev has not yet solved at welterweight.
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