UFC welterweight contender Ian Garry believes his performance in defeat against Shavkat Rakhmonov cemented him as second in the chasing pack.
Garry had a late-notice opportunity to secure his first title shot on mixed martial arts’ biggest stage earlier this month at UFC 310. He stepped in for the injured Belal Muhammad to face Shavkat Rakhmonov, a fellow undefeated up-and-comer at 170 pounds.
While “Nomad’s” championship opportunity had turned into a defense of his top contender status, the Kazakh star emerged with his date opposite champ Muhammad still intact after narrowly outpointing Garry.
“The Future” didn’t lose stock, however, given the competitive nature of his display. But that doesn’t mean he was rewarded with a strong push up the welterweight ladder, on which he remains a few positions off the top five at #7.
During a recent interview with MMA Knockout, Garry was firm in rejecting that placement, insisting that the way he challenged the highly regarded Rakhmonov leaves him as the division’s clear number two contender.
“The way I look at this is that the fight against Shavkat was to be the number one contender in the world and go out and fight for the belt next,” Garry said. “If I’m not the number one contender, of which Shavkat got his hand raised and has now cemented himself, I’m definitely number f**king two.
“That’s the way I look at it. Because there’s no way after that performance, you can’t sit there and say that I’m (not) one of the best in the division,” he continued. “So whatever the rankings want to officially say, it’s okay.”
It remains to be seen what lies in Garry’s future next year. While he was briefly linked toward the headline spot opposite Leon Edwards at UFC London in March, “The Future” has dismissed talk of an outing in Europe if it isn’t in his home country of Ireland.
