Fresh off his UFC Kansas City win over Carlos Prates, welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry is in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as the backup fighter for the UFC 315 main event title fight between champion Belal Muhammad and No. 5 ranked Jack Della Maddalena.
Machado Garry expects Muhammad to retain the title but either way he isn’t going to accept a fight that isn’t for the championship next.
“The truth is, both of the fighters are phenomenal fighters. Belal’s the champion. He went out and he dominated against Leon Edwards to win the belt. He’s a phenomenal fighter. And actually Belal is a very good human from what I’ve seen. Very respectful. Carries himself very well,” Machado Garry told Full Send MMA.
“Jack has been inactive. He hasn’t had the best fights recently. He’s got one win over a current ranked opponent. That’s Gilbert [Burns].”
Whoever wins on Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Machado Garry expects to be their next opponent.
“The truth is, I am next,” he said. “I am going to be the next person. I am the biggest matchup he can get in the division. No one gives a rats about Joaquin Buckley. No one gives a rats about Kamaru Usman. He should have been gone a long time ago. They’re irrelevant in my mind. The biggest fight that you can make after this event, when Belal wins, is Balal Muhammad against Ian Machado Garry. And let’s do it in your back garden. Let’s do it in Chicago.”
Related: Kamaru Usman explains why he doesn’t like champion Belal Muhammad
When asked if he’d accept another fight other than a title bout, Machado Garry answered, “No.”
“I don’t think I need to. I believe I’m the biggest name in the division. I injured Shavkat [Rakhmonov]. He’s not going to be fighting this year. I don’t see anyone who’s bigger, anyone who is more interesting to put on a pay-per-view main event and sellout a stadium. There is no one bigger. There is no one that will create the buzz and that hype,” he said.
