Ian Machado Garry accepted a short-notice fight against Carlos Prates on the condition that a victory would guarantee him the next shot at the welterweight title. He made this expectation clear to the UFC.
He fulfilled his end with a decision win over Prates and is now set to weigh in as the backup fighter for Saturday’s main event between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena. While confident in the UFC`s promise of a title shot following the event, Garry acknowledges one specific scenario where he would willingly yield his position.
“If Jack wins and Islam [Makhachev] wants to come up, everyone takes a backseat,” Garry stated on Wednesday during UFC 315 media day, recognizing Makhachev`s status as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. “You deserve that ranking, you deserve that status.”
“If you want to come up and fight for that belt, then everyone will sit back and let you do so because that’s the respect that man deserves.”
Lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has often expressed interest in pursuing a second title, but he consistently states he would never fight his close friend and frequent training partner, Belal Muhammad. This stance was recently reinforced by Makhachev`s coach, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who emphatically affirmed they would not pursue the welterweight title as long as Muhammad holds it.
However, this situation changes entirely if Della Maddalena is victorious on Saturday.
While Garry is willing to step aside for Makhachev under those specific conditions, the 27-year-old Irish fighter doesn`t anticipate this scenario unfolding, given the prerequisites for Makhachev moving up to the 170-pound division.
“I believe Belal wins this weekend,” Garry said, expressing his strong desire for the subsequent title fight. “When Belal wins this weekend, there ain’t a bigger fight to make than me and Belal, and I want to do it in his backyard. I want to do it in Chicago. I want to sell it out. I want to be the guy to do it, and I want to take his belt in his hometown.”
Rumors suggest the UFC is planning a return to Chicago in the near future, but whether Muhammad would even be available or able to compete after facing Della Maddalena at UFC 315 remains uncertain.
Regardless of Muhammad`s condition, Garry believes it would be unwise for him to pass up the opportunity to fight in his hometown, setting up a perfect scenario for the next welterweight title bout.
“I think for him it would be idiotic to not want to fight in his hometown and defend his belt on home soil,” Garry stated. “Regardless of who’s in front of him.”
Despite wanting to take the title from him, Garry expresses considerable admiration for Muhammad and the long road he traveled to finally become champion. He notes there`s no genuine animosity between them and pledges to handle all the promotional heavy lifting if the UFC books the fight.
“Belal is the champion of the world, and I think from everything that I’ve seen from him, obviously I don’t know the guy personally on a deep [level] but he seems to be a good human,” Garry commented. “Seems to have his mind switched on and isn’t into some bullshit mentioned, stupid things.”
“I think for him it would be a smart move to want to fight me next. Because I’m going to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to selling the card. I’m going to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to putting on a show. I’ll do all the noise. All he has to do is show up so I can win the belt.”
