UFC CEO Dana White Confirms Massive Islam Makhachev Main Event For UFC 330

UFC 330 is set for August 15 in Philadelphia.

Nov 15, 2025; New York, NY, UNITED STATES; Islam Makhachev (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Jack Della Maddalena (not pictured) by unanimous decision in the welterweight championship bout during UFC 322 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images

UFC 330 finally has a main event, continuing a chaotic summer schedule for a promotion just days removed from a seven-fight UFC Freedom 250 finishing spree that shook up two divisions.

UFC CEO Dana White appeared on The Pat McAfee Show Wednesday and confirmed that UFC Welterweight Champion Islam Makhachev will defend his title for the first time vs. Ian Machado Garry, marking the first title fight since August 2009 to take place in Philadelphia, PA. That year, B.J. Penn defended his lightweight title against Kenny Florian at UFC 101.

The event takes place Saturday, Aug. 15, at Xfinity Mobile Arena, as the co-main event features Mackenzie Dern opposite Gillian Robertson for Dern's strawweight title. According to Tapology, two preliminary fights are currently scheduled, with more to be announced in the coming weeks to go alongside the main and co-main events.

Islam Makhachev's Path To UFC 330

Jan 18, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Islam Makhachev (red gloves) reacts after defeating Renato Moicano (blue gloves) in a lightweight title fight during UFC 311 at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Makhachev moved up to welterweight last November and beat Jack Della Maddalena to win his second title. Makhachev had held the lightweight title since Oct. 2022 before he vacated it in preparation for a move to 170 pounds.

Meanwhile, Machado Garry finally gets his shot at undisputed gold after securing back-to-back wins over Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad last year. Machado Garry came up short in a welterweight title eliminator against Shavkat Rakhmonov in Dec. 2024 for his lone defeat in MMA.

UFC 330 marks the conclusion of a stacked summer slate for the promotion, which began this past Sunday with UFC Freedom 250 from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. In just under four weeks' time, the UFC will return to Las Vegas for UFC 329 (International Fight Week) with a main event between Conor McGregor and Max Holloway in a non-title five-rounder from the T-Mobile Arena Saturday, July 11.

UFC's Upcoming Schedule Before UFC 329, UFC 330

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Between that time, though, the UFC will return home for a UFC Fight Night event in Las Vegas, followed by a stop in Baku, Azerbaijan to conclude a busy June schedule.

In a rare weekend, the UFC will be idle for the Fourth of July before it's all hands on deck for McGregor-Holloway 2, marking the return of "The Notorious" for the first time since July 2021.

The UFC's trip to Pennsylvania will mark its first occasion since 2019, where it hosted a Fight Night event that saw eventual UFC Lightweight Champion Justin Gaethje beat Edson Barboza in the night's main event on ESPN.