Ariel Helwani is backing Ian Machado Garry as the only logical choice for the next welterweight title

Ariel Helwani acknowledges Islam Makhachev’s desire to defend his welterweight championship against Kamaru Usman and doesn’t dispute the idea that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is among the best 170-pound champions in UFC history.

However, from 2022 to 2025, Usman has only won one of his four fights. Meanwhile, No. 2 welterweight Ian Machado Garry fought Shavkat Rakhmonov on short notice in 2024 and lost, but then rebounded. In 2025, the Irishman won on short notice against Carlos Prates and recently defeated former champion Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar.

Garry, the short-term risk taker, has been calling out Islam Makhachev since he defeated Mohammed. Nevertheless, opinions within the MMA community are divided on the next title contender. Usman, Garry, Michael Morales and Prates are some of the names.

Ariel Helwani recently pointed out how Garry has been active and even engaged in short-term fights this year. Therefore, the next obvious choice is ‘The Future’ over Usman. Rejecting Ali Abdelaziz recent commentsHelwani posted:

Ian Machado Garry has done more in the last year – won more, fought more and helped the UFC more – than Kamaru Usman has in the last four years. In the past year, Ian Machado has fought Garry three times: a short-term fight against Shavkat, a short-term main event victory against Carlos Prates, and then he defeated former champion Belal Muhammad. I’m sorry, Ian is the obvious choice over Kamaru.

Check out Ariel Helwani’s comments below:

UFC approached Islam Makhachev for the fight in January 2026, Ian Machado Garry was one of the potential opponents

According to Ali Abdelaziz, the UFC contacted newly minted UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in January 2026 to defend his 170-pound championship. The MMA manager stated that the two available opponents were Ian Machado Garry and Kamaru Usman.

But Makhachev’s training partner and friend, Khabib Nurmagomedov, rejected the proposal. Abdelaziz told it MMA junkie:

“Even the UFC contacted me; they asked [Islam] to fight a main event in January. He thought about it and Khabib said, “Hey, shut up.” To be fair, Kamaru’s name was in the mix for January. Ian Garry’s name was also in the mix.’

Watch Ali Abdelaziz’s comments below:

Nurmagomedov may not have supported the offer since Makhachev made his welterweight debut at UFC 322 in November, and a fight so soon after could be taxing as he would have to undergo another weight cut and training camp.