After suffering his first loss at UFC 310, what’s next for Ian Machado Garry?

MMA: UFC 303 - Garry vs Page
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This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC 310, we saw a battle of unbeaten welterweights with a title shot on the line. Shavkat Rakhmonov (19-0) took on Ian Machado Garry (15-1) in a five-round battle with the winner being guaranteed the next shot at champion Belal Muhammad.

Garry was supposed to headline the Tampa card this weekend against Joaquin Buckley while Rakhmonov was supposed to fight Belal Muhammad for the title. However, after Muhammad suffered an injury, Garry stepped in to face Rakhmonov with no issues. He earned a ton of respect with that move.

I feel like Garry wasn’t being respected enough entering the bout due to the hype of Rakhmonov. I’ll admit it, I didn’t give Garry enough respect myself. Not only did Garry show off just how good he was on Saturday night, he pushed Rakhmonov to the absolute limit.

Entering the final round at UFC 310, all three judges had it 3-1 for Rakhmonov. Garry pushed forward and during a scramble got the back of Rakhmonov. He nearly secured a rear naked choke but Rakhmonov fought out of it. Garry still won the round and he was the first person to go the distance with Rakhmonov, but he lost a unanimous 48-47 decision.

What’s next after UFC 310?

I wrote earlier this week that despite winning the fight, Shavkat Rakhmonov almost lost more than he actually won on Saturday. He’s in the same spot he was in before Saturday which is in line for a title shot, but his hype has gone down. On the flip side, despite suffering a loss on the record books, I think Ian Machado Garry won more than he lost.

He was the one who came the closest to finishing the fight and it’s like he told Ariel Helwani yesterday, he doesn’t really think he lost the fight. Now the question becomes, what’s next for the Irish welterweight? Helwani asked about if he’s willing to headline UFC London against Leon Edwards who is supposedly lined up to headline that card and Garry said absolutely not.

Garry apparently has told the UFC that he’d only fight in Europe if he was fighting in Ireland. He also stated that he wants to take a little time before returning to clean up a few holes he noticed after watching back his performance. So, when he does return, who should he face?

Honestly, I love the idea of him facing Leon Edwards. That is such a good fight and that would be my number one choice. If that’s not a realistic option, I would love for him to face former champion Kamaru Usman or perhaps the winner of this weekend’s main event between Joaquin Buckley and Colby Covington.

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