Ian Machado Garry put his money where his mouth is in the lead up to UFC 310. The undefeated welterweight has been calling out all the names that are ranked ahead of him but when none of them would take the fight, he agreed to face Joaquin Buckley on December 14.
His decision to take this matchup came with one other promise to the UFC, that he would be ready to step in if either of the men involved in the UFC 310 main event were forced to withdraw. With the welterweight champion Belal Muhammad out of the fight, Garry proved to be a man of his word and he will now face Shavkat Rakhmonov in the co-main event this weekend.
Calling opponents out for avoiding him is one thing but agreeing to face the man that everyone sees as the boogeyman of the division really shows that Garry backs himself against any and all of his fellow welterweights. In fact, he already believes that he's overcome the toughest style clash for him.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, the 27-year old answered some questions from the fans. One of which asked him who he believes is the toughest style matchup for him in the division.
Though many would assume that a grappling-heavy fighter might be his biggest challenge as an excellent striker, he responded by naming an opponent that he has already beaten. In February, he won 30-27 on two of the judges scorecards at UFC 298 to earn his seventh consecutive win inside the Octagon.
I believe I’ve already fought him, his name is Geoff Neal. Someone who hits like a truck, has clean striking, very hard to take down. So I believe that he was one of the dark horses in the division and I went out there and I beat him clean, so for me that’s it.
