Ian Machado Garry says the fight with Michael Morales is done on his end, and he’s accusing the undefeated welterweight of walking away from it. On Monday, Garry posted footage to Instagram of himself and Morales agreeing to fight each other in the immediate aftermath of UFC 330, then attached a caption that read like a subpoena.
“I’ve said YES. The date is locked in,” Garry wrote. “Main event and you’re making excuses already. UFC sent the date.”
He kept going, claiming he had messaged Morales directly and was hearing something different in private than what Morales was saying in public. “I dm’d you myself. You make it all public, but behind the scenes I’m getting a different message,” Garry wrote, before closing with a jab at the calendar: “How long has it been since he’s fought?”
The post was a response to Morales’ comments over the weekend. Speaking at a press conference, Morales said he had been in Las Vegas pushing for a fight because the UFC hadn’t booked him in a year. He said a December date fell through and he’d be back in January against what he called a very tough opponent. Then he flipped the ducking accusation right back. “It’s neither Prates or Ian Machado Garry. Neither wants to fight,” Morales said. Bloody Elbow reported that Morales suggested Shavkat Rakhmonov will be the opponent, though Morales did not name him in his quoted remarks.
Morales also laid out the stakes as he sees them. “We accepted the January fight, which is my last fight before a title shot,” he said, adding that a win would put him in a title fight in June.
This is the second round of receipts between these two. Bloody Elbow previously ran a story headlined around Morales leaking private messages with Garry as the pair agreed to a fight date, so both men have now gone public with private exchanges to prove the other guy is the one stalling.
Garry, 28, has been targeting Morales since he fell short against Islam Makhachev in a title fight at UFC 330 in August. Morales, 27, hasn’t competed since he knocked out Sean Brady inside one round at UFC 322 last November. A January return would put him 14 months removed from that win.
Sal’s take: Garry has the louder argument and Morales has the better hand. An unbeaten contender who says he has a title shot penciled in for June has zero incentive to fight the guy who just lost to Makhachev, and Morales knows it. Garry’s best line is the layoff question, because 14 months is a long time to sit on a highlight-reel knockout, and I’ve lost enough money on rusty favorites to respect that point. If the UFC really sent Garry a date, the promotion will either make Morales show up or quietly book Garry elsewhere. Watch which name lands on the January card, because that answers who was telling the truth in those DMs.
