Ian Machado Garry has got his wish.
The Irishman, an unbeaten welterweight contender in the UFC, has spent much of the past couple of weeks vocally campaigning for a fight with fellow undefeated fighter Shavkat Rakhmonov after injury forced the withdrawal of 170-pound champion Belal Muhammad from a scheduled title bout at next month’s UFC 310 in Las Vegas.
And on Friday night, UFC boss Dana White confirmed that Garry — who had been preparing for a fight with Joaquin Buckley next month — will instead fight on the December 7th card against the Kazakh fighter who has a 100% finish rate across this 18 fights.
Speaking on a video published to his social media channels, Garry explained the circumstances of how the fight came to be.
Usman ducked. Colby ducked. I’m the ONLY welterweight who’ll take anyone anytime LETS GOOOOOO!!!! pic.twitter.com/eF1nTGvLYS
— “The Future” Ian Machado Garry (@iangarryMMA) November 16, 2024
I agree this division is very disappointing – but you and I knew this day would come, let’s go put on a show… https://t.co/mELRz0WOYH
— “The Future” Ian Machado Garry (@iangarryMMA) November 16, 2024
“We’re in Phuket, Thailand for a chunky southpaw getting ready for Joaquin Buckley,” the Irishman said. “I’m going to change it all, fight a week earlier on December 7th in Las Vegas which is where I wanted to fight, when I wanted to fight.
“The world will only be able to say that I’m a f*cking gamer. They will only be able to say that this guy will fight anyone, anywhere, anytime. And the perfect example is to give me the boogeyman of the welterweight division and I’ll stand in there on three weeks notice and I’ll find a way to beat him.”
Following the announcement, Rakhmonov paid tribute to Garry for accepting the fight and credited the former Cage Warriors champion for being the only top-ranked 170-pound fighter who had “backed up their words.”
Rakhmonov vs. Garry will be a five-round fight between the two former training partners at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, with the winner expected to challenge Muhammad for the UFC welterweight title in the first half of 2025.
