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Carlos Prates believes that Islam Makhachev will be leaving Philadelphia without the UFC Welterweight Championship.

Makhachev’s 170-pound gold will be at stake when he collides with Ian Machado Garry in the UFC 330 main event on Saturday. It’ll be Garry’s first UFC title fight and his first pay-per-view headliner. “The Future” will serve as Makhachev’s first welterweight title challenger.

The champion will enter as a clear betting favorite, but Garry insists he will stun the MMA world by putting the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter to sleep. While Prates isn’t going as far as to predict a finish for Garry, he does feel “The Future” has what it takes to pull off the upset win.

In a clip posted on UFC’s X page, Prates shared his pick for the underdog Garry to pull it off.

“UFC 330, Ian Garry is gonna beat Makhachev by decision,” Prates said. “I don’t know if unanimous decision or split decision, but it’s gonna be a decision.”

Prates has shared the Octagon with Garry and he nearly pulled off a come-from-behind victory. The Fighting Nerds standout ended up dropping a unanimous decision, and he actually became quite chummy with “The Future” once their fight wrapped up. Garry has envisioned facing Prates in a rematch with the UFC Welterweight Championship on the line.

In order for Garry to see his vision through, he’ll need to become just the second man to defeat Makhachev in pro MMA competition. The reigning 170-pound titleholder hasn’t been beaten since suffering an upset knockout loss back in 2015. The hiccup didn’t deter Makhachev, who eventually broke the record for the most successful UFC lightweight title defenses before he moved up.

Make sure to stick with BJPenn.com throughout fight week for the latest tidbits leading up to Friday’s weigh-ins and fight night.

As we get closer to Saturday’s UFC 330 card, what are you expecting in the first few minutes of Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry? Share your thoughts on how things could play out early in the comments below.

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