Ian Machado Garry will get his shot at UFC gold when he challenges welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in the UFC 330 main event on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Makhachev enters the headliner as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMA Junkie rankings and is riding a 16-fight UFC winning streak, tied with Anderson Silva for the longest in company history. Oddsmakers have installed Garry as a moderate underdog for the welterweight title clash.
Garry is embracing the challenge in a big way. "I don't think Islam has a lot of weaknesses," he said, before outlining why he believes he presents a unique test. "He's never fought someone as long and tall as me. He's not fought someone as fast as me. He's not fought someone who has the distance management, the boxing capabilities, the head movement that I do, but also the takedown defense. He might get me down. I hope he does, 'cause I want to prove to the world that he can't submit me. I want to prove to the world that I can get back up. I want to prove to the world that I can beat him in his own world. I don't care how long he's trained in that area. I don't care if he's an internationally recognized master of Sambo or not."
The challenger made his intentions clear ahead of UFC 330. "I'm going to bounce him on his skull," Garry said. "I'm going to take his title. I'm going to take his throne. And I'm going to finish that consecutive win streak. And I'll always be the guy that stopped history from happening."
