Ian Machado Garry has explained why he doesn't believe Kamaru Usman deserves a shot at the UFC welterweight championship.
Since before Islam Makhachev even won at UFC 322, Kamaru Usman has made it clear that he believes he should get a shot at the belt. It comes in the wake of a nice win over Joaquin Buckley, which helped him snap a three-fight losing streak that he had been on.
Ian Machado Garry, meanwhile, is preparing to take on Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar, believing that a win could vault him into championship contention.
In a recent scrum, Machado Garry explained why he doesn't think Kamaru Usman should get a crack at Makhachev.
Ian Machado Garry slams Kamaru Usman
"Do I think the champion of the world, one of the pound-for-pound best in the world should fight a has-been, someone who used to be great but isn't great anymore? No," Machado Garry said during Wednesday's media day.
"Where is he now in the rankings? Eight or nine? The last fight he had was against a guy who had like seven losses in the UFC? No. Islam Makhachev is a phenomenal fighter, and he needs to fight one of the young, up-and-coming contenders, not a has-been who has no knees."
"If I was Islam, I would want to fight Kamaru Usman, too because it's an easy paycheck, it's an easy win, it's an easy way for me to get my first title defense at welterweight," Machado Garry continued. "But when you've got the likes of me – if you look at the four main contenders right now: Shavkat (Rakhmonov), me, (Carlos) Prates, (Michael) Morales. What do we all have in common?
"Long, tall, rangy, powerful, and full of youth. Way more dangerous than the guy who used to be the greatest. Not in a million years, that to me is a cop-out. You need to fight one of the up-and-comers. One of the guys that are hungry, that have that passion, that have not felt what it feels like to be a champion, that are driven to achieve their dreams."
Quotes via MMA Junkie