Yaroslav Amosov wanted a ranked name for his UFC debut. He got one a lot higher up the ladder than he expected. The former Bellator welterweight champion (30-1) told Ariel Helwani he was caught off guard when the promotion offered him Ian Machado Garry (17-2) in a five-round fight at UFC Saudi Arabia on Dec. 5, and that he didn’t hesitate to take it.
“It was a surprise for me. I saw a lot of fighters had fights, and I thought maybe the UFC would give me somebody from the top 10, maybe number eight or seven,” Amosov said in the clip Helwani posted to X on Wednesday.
He read the offer as a door swinging open. “I was very happy because I thought, ‘Oh, this is a very big chance for me.’ Of course, I’m ready. I said I’m ready. Doesn’t matter when, doesn’t matter who. Just let’s go.”
View post on X
Garry’s Old Comments Come Back Around
Helwani also asked Amosov about Garry’s past dismissive remarks about him. The Ukrainian kept his answer short and pointed. “He doesn’t know me. He thinks all people can smash me, beat me. But now he has a fight with me, and now we will see,” Amosov said. He added that he understands trash talk as part of a fighter’s job, but that he focuses on himself.
Garry has already weighed in. MMA Fighting posted video of the Irishman reacting to the five-rounder being announced, and the bout sits on a stacked Dec. 5 lineup that also includes Israel Adesanya (24-6) against Shara Magomedov (17-1) and Serghei Spivac (18-7) against unbeaten Mario Pinto (13-0).
View post on X
Where This Fits at 170
Garry’s last big swing came at UFC 310 in December 2024, when he stepped in for injured champion Belal Muhammad and lost to Shavkat Rakhmonov. Rakhmonov (19-0) hasn’t fought since. He posted “Soon 2027” on his Instagram Stories this week after unconfirmed reports about more knee trouble circulated online. In the meantime the belt moved from Muhammad to Jack Della Maddalena to Islam Makhachev, and Michael Morales (19-0) meets Carlos Prates for the interim title at UFC 336 on Jan. 30 in Toronto, with the winner expected to get Makhachev.
So the shortest path for whoever wins in Saudi Arabia runs straight into that Morales vs. Prates winner. UFC middleweight Dalton Rosta already picked his side, writing on X that Amosov will smoke Garry and then beat Islam.
View post on X
My take: this is the right way to bring in a 30-1 champion. Too many imports get a soft landing against someone ranked 12th, win a decision nobody remembers and then spend two years arguing about who they’ve actually beaten. Five rounds against Garry answers that on night one. Garry is long and slick on the feet, and he’ll have 25 minutes to keep this standing, while Amosov’s whole Bellator run was built on dragging opponents into deep water and keeping them there. If Garry stuffs the first few takedowns, things get very interesting very fast. If he doesn’t, Rosta’s tweet is going to get quoted a lot on the night of Dec. 5.
