Ian Machado Garry has a clear vision for how he wants the immediate future of his career to unfold.
Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC), who earned a unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates (21-7 MMA, 4-1 UFC) in the main event at UFC on ESPN 66 on Saturday night, announced during his post-fight interview that he will be traveling to Montreal, Canada, to serve as the backup fighter for the upcoming UFC welterweight title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.
Speaking to the media at Saturday night’s post-fight press conference, the Irishman said he wants to take on the toughest challenges the UFC welterweight division has to offer in order to build his own legacy in the sport.
"Belal", Garry answered when asked who he would rather face for the welterweight title. "Nothing to do with style but just to do with what he's done in the division. He is the champion, he has beaten former champions, he's on a however many fight win streak. I feel like Jack has not done the same workload and I don't want any question marks on my career, I've told you this. So I want to beat the best guys in the world and Jack is up there in that level but I just think Bilal has done more to warrant that status."
Garry bounced back impressively on Saturday night after suffering the first defeat of his professional career in December against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Now that he's back in the win column, "The Future" has his sights set on some major matchups moving forward.
"So I'm going to fight Belal next", he predicted. "I'm going to beat Belal. Belal has said it many, many times. I am the toughest opponent in the division for him. Then when Belal doesn't have the belt, there's a certain pound-for-pound number one who wants to come up. And his name is Islam Makhachev. And I have nothing but love and respect for that man and his style. And it would be an honor to share the octagon with him. I would love to go out there and prove against him in my first title defense that I'm the pound-for-pound number one.
"I beat him, I take that status. I win my first title defense. And then Shavkat gets the rematch. And I'm going to go out there, and I am going to dismantle that man, and prove that he never won that fight. And that's my next three-fight plan. That's how I see it going, and I don't want it any other way."
