Ian Machado Garry has given his thoughts on who should fight who in the UFC welterweight division. Garry recently moved up to second on the 170-pound list after his former opponent, Shavkat Rakhmonov, was removed from the rankings.
‘The Future’, who suffered his only MMA loss to ‘Nomad’ in 2024, bounced back in 2025 with a short-notice win over Carlos Prates. He then defeated Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar. Garry now has his sights set on welterweight champion and pound-for-pound king Islam Makhachev.
In addition to the Irishman, Kamaru Usman, Michael Morales and Carlos Prates have also expressed interest in fighting for the title next.
Makhachev, on the other hand, is interested in fighting ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ as he believes the latter is his biggest challenge in this new weight class.
However, Ian Machado Garry has more intriguing matchups in mind.
Ian Machado Garry proposes three potential matchups to get the UFC welterweight division going
In a recent Instagram video, Ian Machado, with all the right reasoning, suggested three possible matchups in the UFC welterweight division to Garry, keeping himself atop the title picture. He said:
“Everyone has an opinion on who should fight who next in the welterweight division. Here’s mine.”
1) Carlos Prates vs. MichaelMorales
“Carlos Prates vs. Michael Morales because they are two powerful, heavy hitters, and I want to see who comes out on top. I doubt Morales would accept it, because the truth is that Carlos Prates hits harder.”
2) Jack Della Maddalena vs. Kamaru Usman
The Irishman added:
‘I’d like to see Carlos [Prates] and JDM too, but I’m going to watch Jack Della Maddalena vs. Kamaru Usman. I want to see if Jack can stop the takedown. Has he learned? Can he get better? Can he evolve, and [does] Does Kamaru still have the equipment to beat a young prospect?
3) Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry
Finally, he confidently announces that he is Islam Makhachev’s next they will resistGarry added:
“And finally, the welterweight world title fight. I want to see the champion, Islam Makhachev, defend his title against the number one contender in the world, Ian Machado Garry. I’m next.”
Check out Ian Machado Garry’s comments below:
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