The UFC 330 card will feature twelve bouts, all of which will be previewed in this post. The card will be headlined by a bout for the welterweight championship between reigning Dagestani champion Islam Makhachev (pictured top left) and top Irish contender Ian Machado Garry (pictured top right). The co-main event will be a bout for the women’s strawweight title between Brazilian champion Mackenzie Dern (pictured bottom left) and Canadian challenger Gillian Robertson (pictured bottom right).

A fighter’s CC win probabilities are based off of a fighter’s Cage Calculus (CC) Rating and their place in the CC Rankings. A fighter’s CageCalc+ Score is determined by a variety of factors and is specific to each matchup. The CageCalc+ projection is an estimated win probability based on this statistic. Each fighter’s new CC Ratings after their bouts will be determined by the first CC win probability only.

Also featured below their record and rating is their divisional rankings in the CC Rankings and the official UFC Rankings. Both their media ranking and Meta AI ranking are displayed. Any fighter falling outside of the top 15 of their respective division is classified as NR (not ranked).

Also displayed to the right of their rankings is a fighter’s CCz Score. A positive CCz Score indicates a fighter is above average for their weight class. A negative one indicates they are below average. The higher the number is, the farther away from average a fighter is (in either direction). CCz Scores typically range from as high as positive 4, to as low as negative 2.5.

The fighter’s name highlighted in green at the bottom of the panel indicates the editor’s pick to win. The numbers above each fighter’s name indicates their posted odds to win on FanDuel Sportsbook as of the posting of these previews.

Without further ado, here is the Cage Calculus tale of the tape for this week’s fights!

UFC 330 (Makhachev vs. Garry) Previews – August 15, 2026

Jeremiah Wells vs. Myktybek Orolbai

EDITOR’S NOTE: Wells may not be being given enough credit, but Orolbai is on his way to the top 15 in this loaded welterweight division. This ought to be his last unranked opponent for a while. Orolbai should get this done inside the distance.

Neil Magny vs. Ramiz Brahimaj

EDITOR’S NOTE: This fight feels like it’s only going one way. Magny is an aging legend who has lost half of his pro losses by way of submission. Brahimaj is a rising welterweight slowly finding his footing (even after he dropped his last bout while suffering from an injury). Brahimaj has won 12 of his 13 career wins by submission. Brahimaj by sub seems written in the stars.

Rafael Tobias vs. Lucas Fernando

EDITOR’S NOTE: Hard to know how this is going to go, given this is Fernando’s UFC debut. It’ll be a step up in competition for sure. However, Fernando will boast a six-inch reach advantage, and Tobias didn’t exactly look like a world beater in his only UFC fight thus far.

Vicente Luque vs. Tresean Gore

EDITOR’S NOTE: Luque still can’t get respect at middleweight. He just submitted Kelvin Gastelum as a sizable underdog. Now, he takes on the far less experienced Gore and still remains the underdog. Gore is a talented submission artist in his own right, but will be at a decided disadvantage on the feet. Look for Luque to mix it up en route to a TKO victory. Maybe then people will remember how dangerous Luque is in any division.

Jose Montanha vs. Louie Sutherland

EDITOR’S NOTE: Johnson looks like a legit prospect at 185 pounds. McConico has stayed active, but with middling success. This should be a straightforward win for Johnson.

Charles Johnson vs. Eduardo Henrique

EDITOR’S NOTE: Back up the truck! Johnson is another vet being slept on in this matchup. Henrique is taking this fight on just a few days’ notice. Johnson, for his part has KO wins over top contender Lone’er Kavanagh and flyweight champ, Joshua Van. He’s uniquely tall and rangy for this division. That should give the newcomer Henrique fits.

Chidi Njokuani vs. Joel Alvarez (Featured Prelim)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Alvarez is one of those guys who could be on a championship trajectory very easily if he could just work on his fight IQ. Alvarez is a master at finding the finish. He has 17 submission wins to his name, and his last two wins came by KO. However, he often gets caught trying to chase a finish. Njokuani, though, has a tendency to get finished himself. Looking at the numbers, Alvarez by submission is a good bet here.

Edson Barboza vs. Esteban Ribovics

EDITOR’S NOTE: If this bout were taking place in Barboza’s prime, this would be a shoo-in for fight of the night. However, he is getting towards the end of his UFC run. Ribovics can be sloppy at times, but a slugfest on the feet plays to his strengths. Barboza will have to try to keep this a clean fight at distance (or try to initiate a takedown). Ultimately, Ribovics has too many ways to win.

Mansur Abdul-Malik vs. Dustin Stoltzfus

EDITOR’S NOTE: This seems like an instance of the UFC trying to get a highly-touted prospect (Abdul-Malik) back on track after the hype train got somewhat de-railed in his last bout, suffering his first loss. Stoltzfus is game enough, but raw skill is not on the same level here.

Jalin Turner vs. Kaue Fernandes

EDITOR’S NOTE: This was the fight on this card I agonized over picking the most. Fernandes has leg kicks that can devastate a fighter like Turner. However, Turner is massive for the lightweight division. Fernandes has not seen physicality quite like this. Turner has to get into Fernandes’ face early to prevent him from flowing with kicks from the outside. If Turner makes it ugly, he can get the win. But, Fernandes has the skills to disrupt. Going with Turner, but tepidly so.

Mackenzie Dern vs. Gillian Robertson (Title Fight Co-Main Event)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This will be a fun matchup of two grappling heavy fighters, which may ultimately be decided by who is best on the feet. Everyone waxes poetic about Dern’s submission ability. However, it is Robertson who holds the women’s UFC record for most submission wins of all-time (and is the younger fighter by two years). People assuming Dern will have the edge if it gets to the ground may be presumptuous, especially since Robertson is the better offensive wrestler and is likely to end up on top in most wrestling exchanges. On the feet, Robertson has three KO wins to her name. Dern has zero. Robertson is the more versatile fighter here and can mitigate a lot of Dern’s strengths. I won’t be surprised to hear “AND NEW” from Buffer after this co-main.

Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry (Title Fight Main Event)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The only variable here is going to be Garry’s size. Officially, Garry is five inches taller than Makhachev (though this didn’t appear to be the case during their faceoff this week). That will lend him an advantage in the striking on the feet and make it a little harder for Makhachev to get the takedowns. Garry is a smarter fighter than he gets credit for. All that being said, Makhachev is one of the best to ever do it. Garry hasn’t shown the ability to handle someone of Makhachev’s caliber because, frankly, there is no one else of his caliber. Can’t pick against the champ in this bout.

Picture Credit: UFC