Dana White explains exactly why Islam Makhachev can't be considered the UFC GOAT before Ian Machado Garry title fight

UFC president Dana White has explained the true reason he believes Islam Makhachev is not considered the greatest of all time (GOAT) ahead of the Russian’s welterweight title defence against Ian Machado Garry.

Makhachev will defend his welterweight title in the co-main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia on Saturday (August 15), with the Russian unbeaten since 2015.

The 34-year-old will compete as a professional for the 30th time, having last taken to the octagon back in November 2025 when he beat Jack Della Maddalena by unanimous decision at UFC 322.

And it’s not just the defence of his title that may be motivating the Russian, as he can break the record for the longest win streak in UFC history (16) with a win over Machado Garry. The record is currently held by Brazilian icon Anderson Silva.

Despite securing notable wins over Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski (x2), Charles Oliveira, Dan Hooker and several others, while also holding both the welterweight and lightweight titles, White still believes there’s one small reason Makhachev is not considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time alongside the likes of Jon Jones, Demetrious Johnson, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Georges St-Pierre.

Dana White explains why Islam Makhachev isn't the UFC GOAT

Speaking in a recent interview with TMZ, White said: “Me and my friends were just talking about it [the GOAT debate] right now.

“If he doesn’t have that one loss, you could probably consider him the GOAT right now.

“He’s obviously accomplished more than Khabib because he’s fought longer.”

Makhachev’s sole loss came by way of knockout against Adriano Martins at UFC 192 in October 2015 in the Russian’s second fight under the promotional banner.

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Khabib retired in 2020 after winning all 13 of his UFC bouts.

Earlier in the week, White discussed Makhachev potentially breaking Silva’s win streak record.

“I don’t think about that stuff until the fight happens,” he said.

“When we see his performance on Saturday, let’s see how it plays out. But obviously, breaking the record, you keep grinding, you keep fighting, you put your head down and just keep f*cking knocking guys down left and right, and then by the time you say, ‘You know what? I’m done.’ Then we all figure out where he ends up in the big picture. He’s on the right path, that’s for sure.”

Also on the UFC 330 card, Mackenzie Dern defends her women’s strawweight title against Gillian Robertson, while Jalin Turner takes on Kaue Fernandes in a lightweight bout.

In the middleweight division, Mansur Abdul-Malik takes on Dustin Stoltzfus, with Edson Barboza fighting Esteban Ribovics to round off the main card.