UFC 330 Power Rankings: Rating The Night’s Big Winners In Philadelphia

The UFC landed in the City of Brotherly Love as Philadelphia, PA played host to a great night of fights at UFC 330.

The night delivered a host of exciting matchups, with the night finishing with two reigning UFC champions successfully defending their titles in front of a packed house at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Here are our power rankings for the night’s top performers in Philly.

UFC 330 Power Rankings

1. Islam Makhachev

Islam Makhachev was made to dig deep by Ian Machado Garry, but he showed his ability to dig deep as he battled to a unanimous decision victory over the Irishman to retain his title in the main event.

Makhachev’s wrestling came up against some stubborn takedown defense from Machado Garry, but his persistence paid off as he still managed to use his wrestling to keep the Irishman from racking up points on the feet. And, in the biggest moment of the fight, he dropped the challenger with a head-kick as he punished Machado Garry for exiting a clinch with his hands down.

It was a hard-won victory for Makhachev, who now knows that he’s up against some big, strong opposition who won’t be so easy to bully around the Octagon.

2. Mackenzie Dern

The co-main event saw reigning strawweight queen Mackenzie Dern prove a point as she dominated Gillian Robertson over five rounds to retain her title via unanimous decision.

Dern was dominant through the first three rounds, as she outstruck Robertson on the feet, then turned to her improved wrestling to take the fight to the mat. And with the action in the grappling realm, Dern was simply a class above Robertson, whose own top-tier mat skills were enough to ensure she wasn’t submitted. But not being finished was just about the only crumb of comfort for the challenger, as Dern comprehensively bossed the fight to notch her first successful title defense.

3. Justin Stoltzfus

In many people’s eyes, Mansur Abdul-Malik’s bout with Dustin Stoltzfus was meant to be a bounce-back fight for the Maryland native. But nobody told Stoltzfus that, and he delivered one of the performances of the night to claim an impressive second-round submission win.

Stoltzfus entered Saturday night’s fight on a two-fight skid, and it’s quite possible he was fighting for his UFC future in Philly. Regardless of the external motivations, Stoltzfus produced an outstanding display as he dragged Abdul-Malik into a trench war, and eventually finished him with a rear-naked choke in the second round.

It saw Stoltzfus snap his losing streak as he claimed the 17th win of his career, and his fourth victory inside the Octagon. It also saw him bag a hard-earned $100,000 Performance of the Night bonus.

4. Jalin Turner

Since walking back his decision to retire from the UFC back in March of last year, Jalin Turner has looked outstanding as he’s registered successive stoppage victories inside the Octagon.

On Saturday night, “The Tarantula” followed up his UFC 323 finish of Edson Barboza with a second successive first-round stoppage as he knocked out Kaue Fernandes in just 39 seconds, as he showcased his finishing power in MMA gloves to devastating effect.

Turner now stands at 16-9 for his career, and is on a two-fight win streak – both via first-round finish – after his prior two-fight skid prompted his untimely decision to walk away.

Now he’s back, and he looks like a real threat.

5. Esteban Ribovics

Argentine striker Esteban Ribovics’ lightweight clash with Edson Barboza was expected to deliver plenty of eye-catching stand-up action. But, when the action got underway, it was clear that one man was the hammer, and the other was the nail.

Ribovics dominated the Octagon as he battered Barboza, who looked a shadow of the man who used to terrorize opponents in the UFC lightweight division over the years. The finish was a matter of when, rather than if, and when the bout was waved off at the 1:32 mark of Round 2, there wasn’t a person in the building who felt it came too early.

An emotional Barboza announced his retirement from the Octagon, while Ribovics respectfully watched on. The Brazilian’s career may now be at an end, but “El Gringo” looks like he’s more than capable of stepping into Barboza’s shoes as one of the most feared strikers in the division.