Dana White has gone after Ian Machado Garry. SPORTbible reported Monday that the UFC CEO directly called out Garry in what the outlet called a brutal rant over the title fight decision surrounding Islam Makhachev. The reporting available to us doesn’t include White’s exact words, so we won’t invent any. What we do know is the target, Garry, and the topic, which is who gets the next shot at the welterweight belt.
Makhachev is the welterweight champion. That needs saying, because some of the chatter around this story still has him at 155. The 34-year-old left lightweight after a long reign, beat Jack Della Maddalena for the 170-pound title at UFC 322 last November, then made his first defense against Garry in the UFC 330 main event in Chicago this past August.
People saw that fight differently. Bloody Elbow described Makhachev as dominating it. Daniel Cormier, who trained with Makhachev at American Kickboxing Academy, saw the toughest test of the champion’s run. On his YouTube channel, Cormier said, “Islam used 100 percent of what he was in that last fight to beat Ian Garry, because Ian Garry is so big.”
However you scored it, Garry lost. That makes two big ones in a row for him. Before Makhachev, Shavkat Rakhmonov beat him by unanimous decision in December 2024. Rakhmonov hurt his knee in that fight and hasn’t competed since.
Who’s actually next
Carlos Prates appears to be the answer. He’s the No. 1 ranked contender and is riding a three-fight win streak. Bloody Elbow reports the UFC looks set to match him with Makhachev.
No. 3 contender Michael Morales isn’t happy about it. The 27-year-old Ecuadorian has revealed he has a fight booked for January, and the opponent is neither Prates nor Garry. In a video on social media, Morales accused the champion of picking the easier fight and named Rakhmonov as his 2027 opponent, calling him “The final boss of this division.” Then he added a parting shot at Garry: “Oh, I almost forgot, f Ian Garry.”
Morales and Rakhmonov would make sense as a title eliminator for whoever wins Makhachev vs. Prates. The catch is Rakhmonov’s knee, which keeps flaring up. Makhachev has been brushing him off as a challenger for exactly that reason.
My take
I don’t need the full transcript to say White is right to keep Garry out of this conversation. Garry is 0-2 in his two biggest fights. Losing a close-looking fight to a pound-for-pound No. 1 doesn’t move you ahead of the No. 1 contender on a three-fight streak. Cormier’s point about size is real, and Garry has a style that bothers smaller grapplers. That earns him a ranked opponent and a path back. It doesn’t earn him an immediate rematch. Of everyone left out, Morales has the strongest complaint. He’s booked for January, and he’s already made clear what he thinks of sharing a division with Garry.
