Ian Machado Garry proclaimed that his “destiny” was to defeat Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 and become the new welterweight champion. Reality, however, demonstrated the opposite. Machado Garry (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) gave a solid account of himself in a unanimous decision loss to Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) on Saturday at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Victory wasn’t out of reach, he just didn’t get off to the start he needed or produce an effective enough offense to capitalize on what looked like a winnable scenario for him. It will be a tough pill for Machado Garry to swallow once he watches the fight and sees that he could have gotten this result even closer than he was, but there should also be a high degree of confidence that he will take it the right way and grow. His comments immediately after the fight showed that he didn’t lose an ounce of self-confidence, and that should put him in a better place in the future. Machado Garry is completely accurate when he points out that he is only 28 years old and could easily have another decade of high-level competition ahead of him. There is a strong chance that he will one day find himself back in a title fight, it’s just a matter of how long it will take. There’s no guarantee, though, because the welterweight division is as good as it gets, and there’s a good chance he won’t be able to overcome the next killer who will undoubtedly be in front of him in the octagon next time, and regress even further. He is now in the weight class range where no easy fights are coming his way. There are some interesting options opposite Machado Garry right now. He laid the groundwork for a showdown with Michael Morales after a backstage interaction between the two that was caught on camera, but that’s only in play if Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) doesn’t land the upcoming title fight with Makhachev, which will surely be his focus. If not that, then a former champion like Kamaru Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) or Jack Della Maddalena (18-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) might make sense, with some foundations laid for either of those pairings as well. Those would likely be preferred matchups for Machado Garry, given that both former champions have lost more than they won in recent fights, and will potentially give him the opportunity to achieve a convincing result that puts him back on a title run. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Shelby’s Shoes: What’s next for Ian Machado Garry after loss at UFC 330?
