Ian Machado Garry says he has agreed to headline against Michael Morales and that the date is locked in. He made the claim publicly Monday, a day after Morales closed a callout of the welterweight division by cursing Garry’s name. Garry didn’t say what the date is. He did say Morales is talking one way in public and another in private.
“You’re making excuses already. UFC sent the date. I DM’d you myself. You make it all public but behind the scenes I’m getting a different message,” Garry said, as posted by Championship Rounds on X. He followed with “The world knows I’m anyone anytime” and then landed the jab Morales probably saw coming: “How long has it been since he’s fought?”
The answer is almost a year. Morales (18-0) last fought when he beat Sean Brady in a one-sided win. He sits at No. 3 in the rankings and believes one more victory gets him a title shot.
Two very different versions of the same phone call
The accounts don’t line up. On Saturday, Morales told MMA Weekly he had already accepted a January fight against what he called a very tough opponent, and that it wasn’t Garry or Carlos Prates. According to Morales, neither of those two actually wants the fight. He added that Garry already had a fight booked and had wanted to skip another fighter, which Morales believes is why Garry pushed for a December date against him. Morales said he had been in Las Vegas pressing the UFC because he hadn’t been given a fight in a year, and that December slid to January.
He was explicit about the plan. “We accepted the January fight, which is my last fight before a title shot,” Morales said, adding that he hopes to fight for the belt in June.
Then came Sunday’s message, also shared by Championship Rounds. Morales addressed champion Islam Makhachev directly, reminding him that Makhachev had called Morales more dangerous and said he needed one more fight. He challenged Prates, who Morales said claimed the UFC never offered the matchup, and suggested Makhachev might prefer Prates because he wants an easy fighter. Speculation has Prates next in line for a title shot. If that’s how it shakes out, Morales said, “I have mine for 2027. The final boss of this division. Shavkat Rakhmonov.”
He signed off with: “Oh I almost forgot. F*ck Ian Garry.”
So Morales names a January fight that isn’t Garry. Garry says the UFC sent a main-event date for him and Morales. One of them has the wrong paperwork, and the UFC hasn’t said which.
Sal’s take
Garry’s layoff shot is the smartest thing anyone said all weekend, and I say that as someone who gets itchy whenever a guy returns from nearly a year off and gets priced like nothing happened. Morales has a real case at 18-0 with a dominant Brady win, but he’s also calling out the champ, the presumed contender, a 2027 boss fight and Garry in one breath while claiming he’s booked for January against somebody else. That’s a lot of targets for a man without an announced opponent. When the UFC finally names who’s across from Morales in January, that’s your answer on who was telling the truth about the date.
