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Ian Machado Garry hoped to have UFC welterweight gold on the line by now.
It's been four months since Garry last fought in the Octagon at UFC 309. On relatively short notice, the Irish star stepped up to take on fellow undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov. He suffered his first career loss in the fight, but his stock still rose even in defeat due to his strong performance in the bout.
Speaking Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Garry recalled how upset he was that Jack Della Maddalena got the next title shot after Rakhmonov was unable to compete. Before Della Maddalena challenges 170-pound champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 next month, Garry will instead battle the surging Brazilian Carlos Prates in UFC Kansas City's short-notice main event on April 26.
"I was steaming red," Garry said. "I was in an Uber on the way home from training at Chute Boxe when my agent called me and filled me in. I hung the phone up. I was like, 'Give me a moment. I'll call you back.' I was just seething because I'm like, 'Alright, this is how it is. OK.' Yeah, I just had to kind of deal with that."
The welterweight title picture has seen a rotating cast come and go of late. Garry's encounter with Rakhmonov, for instance, only arose after the champion Muhammad suffered a nasty bone infection in his toe that forced his withdrawal. Garry entered in his place for the five-round replacement bout that helped close out UFC's 2024 calendar, and it was widely believe that the winner would then fight for the title next against Muhammad. However, Rakhmonov wound up unable to make the date and Della Maddalena was instead shifted into an unexpected title shot for UFC 315.
Ultimately, everything about the situation around UFC 315 rubs Garry the wrong way. Whether or not he's coming off a loss, he doesn't see that as a proper reason to push him aside.
"I think the word 'withdrew' is the word that kind of bugs me on that," Garry said of Rakhmonov. "I don't believe Shavkat withdrew due to just pure choice of not wanting to fight for a title, but from what I'm hearing, it's more an injury that I absolutely believe he sustained in the fight with me due to the amount of heel kicks I put to his knee.
"We're in a world title fight, fighting for the No. 1 contender spot, so the guy who wins the fight, rightfully so — I still believe he won the fight to this day — he gets the shot. But if he's not available, it makes logical sense to go to me. Not a guy who's been out for a year, and off an injury beforehand, and had to repetitively go down that line of longer and longer healing.
"The words I heard were, 'We can't go with a title shot off of a loss,' and I'm like, yeah, but you can, and you have done many times in the past," Garry concluded. "So I just kind of said, 'You know what? I've got a lot to do, and I'm excited for it.' April 26, we'll show the world what's up."
Since Garry's first career loss, new contenders have emerged with strong cases for a welterweight title shot, including the Irishman's next opponent, Prates. Sean Brady has also broken through, even leapfrogging Rakhmonov in the official UFC rankings.
Brady took the No. 1 contender spot with his dominant fourth-round submission of the former champion Leon Edwards at UFC London in March. Before the matchup, Brady was open to a Garry clash. The same can't be said afterward, as Brady now views the division through gold-tinted lenses.
From Garry's seat, he believes that's a wise move on the Philadelphian's part.
"Sean Brady loves mentioning my name. I swear I'm in that man's head," Garry said. "We have the same agent, and I swear to God, every time Sean's name is mentioned, he's always, always, always calling my name. He just has this weird obsession. I just think he's jealous that I'm just beautiful and handsome. He looks like something out of 'The Lord of the Rings.'
"I'd punch the mouth off him. He'd try to shoot an ugly takedown, and I'd put a knee through his nose, and he'd never be able to breathe again. I'd squish it."
The welterweight division is getting through this latest batch of fresh matchups, and Garry vs. Prates is next on the docket. The victorious fighter in this pairing could be, at most, one win away from a title shot, and Garry said he accepted the short-notice headliner for UFC Kansas City without even being told the opponent. Nothing changed, he said, once Prates' name was revealed to him in a subsequent call.
Prates has been on a tear since his UFC arrival, and Garry has enjoyed watching it as a spectator. There's no bad blood between the two. But as much respect as Garry has for his next opponent, he's fully confident Prates is inferior.
Ian Machado Garry is ready to come back with a vengeance after his first career loss. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Steve Marcus via Getty Images
"I think he's done very well," Garry said. "There's a reason he's on a 10-fight knockout streak, fair play to him, that's great. But I also — I think his team [Fighting Nerds] is phenomenal. I love watching his team. I think they're awesome. They're having a lot of success at the moment. They're a lot of fun to watch. So, I'm impressed with him to a certain extent. And then I think of him as an opponent, and I'm like, 'Huh, that's not going to work out well for you, mate.'
"I'm of the most elite welterweights on the planet. So if this man thinks he's as good as he is, and when he steps across that Octagon April 26 against me, that's his do-or-don't time — I promise you, you've seen it from me every time, when I step in that Octagon, I look phenomenal. And I promise you right now, I feel it in my heart, I see it every time I close my eyes, I'm going to finish this guy."
A lot of future welterweight title paths depend on Rakhmonov's status. Theoretically, "The Nomad" should still be atop the pecking order after recovering from injury. But Garry sees his upcoming performance as the decider that will make him the undeniable option instead.
"When I knock out Prates and I've just come off the back of that really, really close fight with Shavkat, and Shavkat is injured because of it, who do you want to see Belal fight next?" Garry said. "Sean Brady? Or do you want to see [Muhammad] fight Ian Machado Garry? What's the bigger fight?
"If you're the UFC and you're deciding on a pay-per-view, and the main event is [these options] ... it's obvious. It's me. I get the attention. I get people riled up, love me or hate me. I'm the best in the world, and it's my job to show it."
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It's been four months since Garry last fought in the Octagon at UFC 309. On relatively short notice, the Irish star stepped up to take on fellow undefeated contender Shavkat Rakhmonov. He suffered his first career loss in the fight, but his stock still rose even in defeat due to his strong performance in the bout.
Speaking Monday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show," Garry recalled how upset he was that Jack Della Maddalena got the next title shot after Rakhmonov was unable to compete. Before Della Maddalena challenges 170-pound champion Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 next month, Garry will instead battle the surging Brazilian Carlos Prates in UFC Kansas City's short-notice main event on April 26.
"I was steaming red," Garry said. "I was in an Uber on the way home from training at Chute Boxe when my agent called me and filled me in. I hung the phone up. I was like, 'Give me a moment. I'll call you back.' I was just seething because I'm like, 'Alright, this is how it is. OK.' Yeah, I just had to kind of deal with that."
The welterweight title picture has seen a rotating cast come and go of late. Garry's encounter with Rakhmonov, for instance, only arose after the champion Muhammad suffered a nasty bone infection in his toe that forced his withdrawal. Garry entered in his place for the five-round replacement bout that helped close out UFC's 2024 calendar, and it was widely believe that the winner would then fight for the title next against Muhammad. However, Rakhmonov wound up unable to make the date and Della Maddalena was instead shifted into an unexpected title shot for UFC 315.
Ultimately, everything about the situation around UFC 315 rubs Garry the wrong way. Whether or not he's coming off a loss, he doesn't see that as a proper reason to push him aside.
"I think the word 'withdrew' is the word that kind of bugs me on that," Garry said of Rakhmonov. "I don't believe Shavkat withdrew due to just pure choice of not wanting to fight for a title, but from what I'm hearing, it's more an injury that I absolutely believe he sustained in the fight with me due to the amount of heel kicks I put to his knee.
"We're in a world title fight, fighting for the No. 1 contender spot, so the guy who wins the fight, rightfully so — I still believe he won the fight to this day — he gets the shot. But if he's not available, it makes logical sense to go to me. Not a guy who's been out for a year, and off an injury beforehand, and had to repetitively go down that line of longer and longer healing.
"The words I heard were, 'We can't go with a title shot off of a loss,' and I'm like, yeah, but you can, and you have done many times in the past," Garry concluded. "So I just kind of said, 'You know what? I've got a lot to do, and I'm excited for it.' April 26, we'll show the world what's up."
Since Garry's first career loss, new contenders have emerged with strong cases for a welterweight title shot, including the Irishman's next opponent, Prates. Sean Brady has also broken through, even leapfrogging Rakhmonov in the official UFC rankings.
Brady took the No. 1 contender spot with his dominant fourth-round submission of the former champion Leon Edwards at UFC London in March. Before the matchup, Brady was open to a Garry clash. The same can't be said afterward, as Brady now views the division through gold-tinted lenses.
From Garry's seat, he believes that's a wise move on the Philadelphian's part.
"Sean Brady loves mentioning my name. I swear I'm in that man's head," Garry said. "We have the same agent, and I swear to God, every time Sean's name is mentioned, he's always, always, always calling my name. He just has this weird obsession. I just think he's jealous that I'm just beautiful and handsome. He looks like something out of 'The Lord of the Rings.'
"I'd punch the mouth off him. He'd try to shoot an ugly takedown, and I'd put a knee through his nose, and he'd never be able to breathe again. I'd squish it."
The welterweight division is getting through this latest batch of fresh matchups, and Garry vs. Prates is next on the docket. The victorious fighter in this pairing could be, at most, one win away from a title shot, and Garry said he accepted the short-notice headliner for UFC Kansas City without even being told the opponent. Nothing changed, he said, once Prates' name was revealed to him in a subsequent call.
Prates has been on a tear since his UFC arrival, and Garry has enjoyed watching it as a spectator. There's no bad blood between the two. But as much respect as Garry has for his next opponent, he's fully confident Prates is inferior.
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Ian Machado Garry is ready to come back with a vengeance after his first career loss. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
Steve Marcus via Getty Images
"I think he's done very well," Garry said. "There's a reason he's on a 10-fight knockout streak, fair play to him, that's great. But I also — I think his team [Fighting Nerds] is phenomenal. I love watching his team. I think they're awesome. They're having a lot of success at the moment. They're a lot of fun to watch. So, I'm impressed with him to a certain extent. And then I think of him as an opponent, and I'm like, 'Huh, that's not going to work out well for you, mate.'
"I'm of the most elite welterweights on the planet. So if this man thinks he's as good as he is, and when he steps across that Octagon April 26 against me, that's his do-or-don't time — I promise you, you've seen it from me every time, when I step in that Octagon, I look phenomenal. And I promise you right now, I feel it in my heart, I see it every time I close my eyes, I'm going to finish this guy."
A lot of future welterweight title paths depend on Rakhmonov's status. Theoretically, "The Nomad" should still be atop the pecking order after recovering from injury. But Garry sees his upcoming performance as the decider that will make him the undeniable option instead.
"When I knock out Prates and I've just come off the back of that really, really close fight with Shavkat, and Shavkat is injured because of it, who do you want to see Belal fight next?" Garry said. "Sean Brady? Or do you want to see [Muhammad] fight Ian Machado Garry? What's the bigger fight?
"If you're the UFC and you're deciding on a pay-per-view, and the main event is [these options] ... it's obvious. It's me. I get the attention. I get people riled up, love me or hate me. I'm the best in the world, and it's my job to show it."
Continue reading...
