UFC 315: Why champ Belal Muhammad is surprised Ian Machado Garry is the backup
UFC 315: Why champ Belal Muhammad is surprised Ian Machado Garry is the backup Machado Garry tapped for potential fill-in spot after dominant win over Prates in Kansas City
UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad didn't expect Ian Machado Garry to be in the title picture so soon.
Muhammad (24-3 MMA, 15-3 UFC) makes his first title defense against Jack Della Maddalena (17-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 315 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) headliner at Bell Centre in Montreal.
Machado Garry (16-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) was dubbed as the official backup for Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena after surviving a late scare to defeat Carlos Prates in the UFC on ESPN 66 main event just over a week ago.
"I had no knowledge, and even when he said it in the cage, I'm like, there's no way this guy is about to step up as the backup because he looked a little bit beat up, especially in that fifth round when he was crawling on the floor (vs. Prates)," Muhammad said of Garry on the "Anik & Florian" podcast.
"He definitely took some damage, but is he going to make weight again, and is it really going to be worth it? Because I'm not pulling out, and I'm sure Jack's not pulling out coming all the way from Australia. So is it really worth it if you're going to make the weight? But he's trying, right? Especially in a division now where people are saying there isn't a clear No. 1 contender anymore."
Muhammad recently told MMA Junkie that he expects Shavkat Rakhmonov to be next, but if Rakhmonov isn't healthy in time, he sees a former champion potentially leapfrogging everyone.
"Shavkat, we don't know when he's coming back, and then you've got (Sean) Brady who just looked great against Leon Edwards," Muhammad said. "You've got Kamaru (Usman) and (Joaquin) Buckley who are about to fight each other. I think for (Machado Garry), he's trying to just put his name in the mix, thinking that he's going to cement himself as being the backup. But you never know what the UFC wants. I think if Kamaru wins, they'll make Kamaru skip the line, no matter what."
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