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UFC Qatar: Ian Machado Garry calls out champion Islam Makhachev after victory over Belal Muhammad - ‘I’m the best in the world’
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Published 22/11/2025 at 23:10 GMT
Ian Machado Garry scored a unanimous decision victory over former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad on Saturday at UFC Fight Night in Qatar. He then called for a clash with the division's new champion, Islam Makhachev, claiming he is the best fighter in the division at the moment and there is an obligation to meet him in the octagon as a result.
'You have a duty to defend that belt' - Machado Garry delivers epic callout to Makhachev
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Ian Machado Garry said UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev has a "duty" to face him after the Irishman defeated Belal Muhammad on Saturday evening.
Machado Garry and Muhammad met in Qatar as the co-main event and the welterweight match ended in a decision victory for the 28-year-old fighter, with neither man able to stop his opponent within the three five-minute rounds at the T-Mobile Arena.
Speaking to TNT Sports in the Octagon after his win, he said that he had been expecting a tough match-up.
"That man didn't surprise me at all," he said to former fighter Michael Bisping. "There was a reason he was the world champion.
"There's a reason why he hasn't been finished in nine years. I hit that guy hard, I hit that guy very hard, and he just kept coming.
"I split him up early. Boom, boom, boom. He was looking for excuses to get out of there, but he's just a tough guy."
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He added: "When you've got Islam Makhachev at the top of the division, you've got to be ready to stop people. I'm telling everyone this now.
"I'm phenomenal on my feet. I'm phenomenal on the ground if you can get me there."
Machado Garry made it clear that he wanted to face Makhachev next, and that the champion has an obligation to meet him to contest the world championship he only recently claimed.
He said: "I just beat the No. 1 ranked welterweight division, the former champion, Belal Muhammed.
"There is nobody in the world above him other than the world champion, Islam Makhachev. Belal couldn’t take me down, so Islam, you go and take me down.
"I’m telling you now, I’m the best in the world, and you have a duty to defend that belt against the best welterweight in the world, and you are looking at him."
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Makhachev fought last weekend at UFC 322, where he deposed Jack Della Maddalena to become the division champion, meaning that any fight for him will likely be some months away.
Muhammad is a former champion, having taken the strap from Leon Edwards in Manchester last summer, before losing to Della Maddelena in May 2025 at UFC 315.
Russian Makhachev recently moved up from the lightweight division, where he was also champion. His most recent bout at that weight was against Renato Moicano, in January earlier this year.
Machado Garry has just one defeat to his name, coming in December last year by unanimous decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov. He got back to winning ways in April this year, when he scored his own unanimous decision victory, against Carlos Prates.
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