UFC welterweight contender, Ian Garry, recently told the combat sports community that he was nominated as the “official” backup fighter for the upcoming UFC 315 pay-per-view (PPV) main event between Belal Muhammad (c) and Jack Della Maddalena, popping off this Sat., night (May 10, 2025) at Bell Centre in Montreal.
According to Muhammad, the days of “Future” passed.
“I had no knowledge [of it], and even when he said it in the cage, there’s no way this guy is about to strap up as the backup,” Muhammad told Anik & Florian podcast. “Because he looked like he got beat up, especially in that fifth round. Is he going to make weight again and is it going to be worth it? Because I’m not pulling out, and I know Jack’s not pulling out coming all the way from Australia. But he’s trying, right? Especially in a division now where people are saying there isn’t a clear number one contender.”
Garry (16-1) is coming off a five-round decision victory over Carlos Prates last month in Kansas City, a performance that elevated “The Future” to No. 6 in the official welterweight rankings. Working in Garry’s favor is the fact that Shavkat Rakhmonov remains injured, leaving the door open for a number of rising title hopefuls.
Like this “New” contender.
“Shavkat, we don’t know when he’s coming back, and then you have [Sean Brady] who looked great against Leon Edwards. Kamaru [Usman] and [Joaquin] Buckley, they’re about to fight each other,” Muhammad continued. “So I think for [Garry], he’s just trying to put his name in the mix and think he’s going to cement himself as being the backup. But you never know what the UFC wants. I think if Kamaru wins, they’ll make Kamaru skip the line, no matter what.”
Sean Brady is currently ranked No. 1 at 170 pounds, while Usman and Buckley collide at UFC Atlanta in June. Depending on the recovery timeline of Rakhmonov, we could be looking at a potential logjam at the top of the division. Especially with the introduction of this current titleholder, who plans to join the “champ-champ” club in 2025.
For the current UFC 315 fight card and PPV lineup click here.
