Ian Garry is setting his sights on a quick finish against Shavkat Rakhmonov in their upcoming showdown, with a strategy for making a lightning-fast return to the Octagon.
Garry is slated to face Rakhmonov in a crucial five-round welterweight clash that s expected to determine the next title challenger. This highly anticipated showdown is set as the co-main event of UFC 310, taking place on Dec. 7 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"The Future" was never part of the original lineup to co-headline the UFC's final pay-per-view event of the year. Garry had been scheduled to face Joaquin Buckley at the UFC Fight Night in Tampa on Dec. 14. The Irishman stepped up on short notice when reigning 170-pound champion Belal Muhammad withdrew from his title defense against "Nomad" due to a bone infection.
Consequently, Colby Covington was enlisted as an eleventh-hour substitute to fill the void left by Garry's departure, stepping in to face Buckley in a reshuffled matchup.
"Chaos" has been firmly on Garry's radar for nearly a year, with both fighters sharing a simmering animosity that has only fueled their rivalry. This tension drives "The Future" to aim for a swift and injury-free victory over Rakhmonov this Saturday, paving the way for a hypothetical return the following weekend to finally settle the score with the former UFC interim champion.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garry said that, following a possible victory over Rakhmonov, he plans to approach the UFC’s top brass with a bold request.
Here is my ideal scenario," Garry said. "I go out there Dec. 7 and I take out Shavkat early. I come out of there unscathed and uninjured. I get on the mic and say, ‘Hey, I could wait until next year when Belal Muhammad is back. Or... Dana [White], Hunter [Campbell], UFC, I could walk my ass all the way down to Florida, and I could beat the bollocks out of Colby Covington for 25 minutes, and I can prove how good I am next week.’
I would love to beat Shavkat, and the following week fight in the main event in Tampa and bury Colby Covington and leave him dead and done in the Octagon, never to be seen again.
Garry enters the UFC 310 bout on the heels of a dominant unanimous decision victory over Michael 'Venom' Page at UFC 303 this past June. The win marked his second triumph of the year and extended his impressive streak to eight consecutive victories inside the Octagon.