Ian Machado Garry has been actively campaigning for a high-profile showdown with Islam Makhachev in the near future.
Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) believes he could be on a collision course with Makhachev (27-1 MMA, 16-1 UFC), who recently vacated the UFC lightweight title he claimed by submitting Charles Oliveira back in 2022.
With Makhachev set to move up to welterweight to challenge newly crowned 170-pound champion Jack Della Maddalena later this year, Machado Garry is working hard to position himself as the next contender for the winner. “The Future” even served as the backup fighter when Della Maddalena defeated Belal Muhammad at UFC 315 last month.
If Makhachev manages to defeat the Australian and achieve his goal of becoming a two-division world champion, Machado Garry hopes to be next in line—a matchup that would evoke memories of the only other time an Irish fighter stepped into the Octagon against a Dagestani opponent.
"If people want to market it as Dagestan vs. Ireland if me and Islam Makhachev ever cross paths then they can," Machado Garry said in an interview with Covers.com. "But I feel like that's bringing in two people like Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, who have had their rivalry and have done and said the things they've said. The truth is, this is Dagestan vs. Ireland, but it would be Islam vs. Ian.
"We can bring up the past, or we can focus on the present. Islam right now is the pound-for-pound No. 1. He's trying to move up and fight for the welterweight world title, and if he wins there is absolutely every scenario that I'm going to call for that fight because there is nothing more I want to do than go out there and beat the No. 1 pound for pound, get the belt and prove that I'm one of the best in the world."
