Islam Makhachev UFC Record: Russian Champion Makes History With 17th Straight Win

The Islam Makhachev UFC record had already been heading toward a historic place prior to the UFC event in Philadelphia.

After beating Della Maddalena at UFC 322, Makhachev matched Silva’s record of 16 consecutive UFC wins. But with his win against Machado Garry at UFC 330, the 34-year-old Russian became the outright winner of the historic record, increasing his winning streak to 17.

Islam Makhachev UFC record holder’s streak of consecutive victories has so far been in two weight classes and includes wins against some of the most prominent names of his generation.

His streak includes wins against such fighters as Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski, Dustin Poirier, and Della Maddalena, while his recent win was over a challenger with only one professional loss on his record.

Garry was hard to contain in parts of the championship fight and managed to avoid the takedowns and get out of many grappling attempts as he tried to spoil the usual wrestling style of Makhachev.

But the defending champion managed to keep the control during the important moments of the fight and even delivered one of the highlights of the fight by putting his opponent down with the head kick in the second round.

Despite his efforts, the challenger still managed to continue until the end of all five rounds and was ultimately granted a unanimous decision win by the judges to the defending champion.

Post fight, Machado Garry accepted the decision without any protests.

“I have nothing but respect for Islam. He won. I have no complaints, no excuses,” Garry stated after the fight.

But Makhachev also admitted the difficulty of the fight, saying that the contest was just difficult.

First Defence of the Welterweight Championship

The latest Islam Makhachev UFC record came just about a year after the Russian fighter made one of the biggest moves in his career and left the lightweight division.

Until then, Makhachev had achieved a consecutive record of championship wins in the 155-pound division after his defeat of Charles Oliveira to capture the vacant lightweight championship in October 2022.

Later, he defended that championship four times and set the UFC records for consecutive successful title defences and total title-fights victories until he moved to welterweight.

In November 2025 at UFC 322 in New York, Makhachev challenged Jack Della Maddalena for the 170-pound championship and won a dominant five-round bout by unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 50-45 for Makhachev.

This made him the champion in the second weight division and made him unbeaten in his 16 fights.

Therefore, there were two major questions before UFC 330 – whether Makhachev will be able to successfully defend his new championship and whether he will be able to surpass the record of Silva.

But at the end of the five rounds in Philadelphia, he managed to answer both.

From Dagestan to Two-Division UFC Champion

Born in Makhachkala in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, Makhachev got his early combat experience in wrestling and combat sambo before getting into mixed martial arts.

He joined UFC in 2015 and had the only professional defeat during the early days of his career in the promotion.

But later, his career took a completely different turn.

The Islam Makhachev UFC record now shows his streak of wins which has lasted for more than ten years of his career and which saw him going from the lightweight contender to becoming the champion in two UFC divisions.

His professional MMA record now stands at 29 wins and one loss after the recent win over Machado Garry.

Makhachev’s rise has also helped in adding another strong fighter to the already prominent region in international mixed martial arts, following the championship career of his longtime teammate and former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Makhachev Moves Ahead of Anderson Silva

Before UFC 330, Silva still held the record for consecutive wins in the promotion.

The legendary Brazilian had won 16 straight fights in UFC between 2006 and 2012 during his run which saw him reign as the middleweight champion for a very long time.

Makhachev tied the record in 2025 and finally surpassed it with the victory number 17 in Philadelphia.

What is worth noting here is that the streak has been continued despite the change of weight class. Going from lightweight to welterweight made Makhachev face opponents who were naturally bigger than him and also had to establish himself once again in the championship bouts.

His first two bouts in the welterweight division have so far ended with him winning the championship and successfully defending it.

So, his victory over Machado Garry is not just another successful night for the Russian fighter. The win makes the Islam Makhachev UFC record sit at the top of the all-time consecutive wins record list in the promotion and also makes him the reigning champion of the welterweight division.

With 17 straight UFC wins, championships in two weight classes and only one professional loss, Makhachev leaves UFC 330 with yet another milestone added to his already successful career.