Charles Oliveira is throwing his support behind Ian Machado Garry ahead of the Irish contender’s title shot against Makhachev in the UFC 330 main event on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Garry, who is 17-1 in MMA and 10-1 in the UFC, challenges the 28-1 Makhachev, who enters the headliner as a big favorite. Garry has been training with BMF champion Oliveira in Brazil as he prepares for the bout.
"Islam is huge – never going to take that away from him. But on the other side, you have Ian," Oliveira said, before explaining why he’s backing his teammate. "He's a guy that puts that game plan right under his arms and just sticks to it, and that's the reason why I believe in him."
Oliveira emphasized Garry’s discipline and approach. "He's a guy that just never detours from the plan. He goes and follows the strategy and is a guy that you need to pay attention to. Look at what he's done with these recent opponents. He's been able to beat them at his game and impose his rhythm, so I do believe he has a chance to do that."
The former lightweight champion, who was submitted by Makhachev in their title fight at UFC 280, dismissed any lingering issues from that result, saying, "That's not an issue – it doesn't exist," and added, "(Makhachev) has all the merit in the world for beating me when it happened, but I'm going to be happy for Ian when he goes out there and gets the win and gets the belt. It's his story, and that's what you need to be happy for."
