Ian Machado Garry believes the key to solving Islam Makhachev may be the grappling lessons he has picked up from one of the sport’s most respected submission artists.
Demian Maia has played a major role in sharpening Garry’s grappling ahead of the biggest fight of his career. “The Future” challenges Makhachev for the UFC welterweight championship in Saturday’s UFC 330 main event at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Makhachev’s greatest weapon is widely considered to be his grappling, and Maia knows exactly what the Russian can do when opponents give him even the smallest opening.
Islam presents problems to everyone,” Maia said on UFC Countdown. “He has good striking, but mainly, Islam’s strength is his grappling game: great takedowns, great variations on the ground, different kinds of submissions. Makhachev will take advantage of any mistake that you do with your elbow, with your leg, with your hips in the wrong direction. He will get you.
Maia explained that much of his work with Garry has focused on eliminating those mistakes rather than simply trying to turn him into a grappling-heavy fighter.
So everything that I do is to make sure he doesn’t make these mistakes,” Maia said. “But Ian is a very smart fighter. He understands that the most obvious advantage is his striking and control of distance. That’s why he has the tools to be the champion.
“The Future” has already provided evidence that his grappling has improved. He stuffed all seven of Belal Muhammad’s takedown attempts before earning a unanimous decision victory at UFC Qatar in November 2025.
The 28-year-old Irishman enters UFC 330 with a 17-1 professional record and a 10-1 UFC record. His lone career defeat came against Shavkat Rakhmonov by unanimous decision at UFC 310 in December 2024.
