During a recent sitdown on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ian Garry claimed that his upcoming opponent, Islam Makhachev, turned down a fight in May at UFC 328.
Garry and Makhachev are set to clash at UFC 330 in August, in a matchup the Irishman has been gunning for. The Dubliner bounced back from his defeat to Shavkat Rakhmonov by racking up impressive wins over Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad. Meanwhile, Makhachev defeated Jack Della Maddalena in his last outing to capture the welterweight belt.
Fight fans were expecting the UFC to book a potential superfight between Makhachev and former two-division champion Ilia Topuria. However, the matchup now looks far-fetched after Topuria’s recent loss to Justin Gaethje at UFC Freedom 250. Speaking to Helwani, Garry said:
“I was told that I was next [for Makhachev] in January. There were talks about April. Then there was an official offer put out for May ninth, which he turned down.”
“They told me that they needed to do their due diligence and put on one of the biggest fights they possible could, which was Ilia vs Islam at the White House. Islam turned it down, to my knowledge.”
Check out Ian Garry’s comments below:
Ian Garry vs. Islam Makhachev Carries McGregor-Khabib Rivalry Into New Era
The upcoming bout between Ian Machado Garry and Islam Makhachev has a deep backstory. “The Future” is widely considered a protégé of fellow Irishman Conor McGregor, while Makhachev came up under the guidance of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Given the heated rivalry between McGregor and Nurmagomedov, this Ireland-versus-Dagestan clash promises fireworks.
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