Ariel Helwani Backs Ian Machado Garry as Only Logical Pick for Next Welterweight Title Shot
Ariel Helwani recognizes Islam Makhachev’s desire to defend his welterweight championship against Kamaru Usman and does not contest the notion that ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is among the best 170-pound champions in UFC history.
However, from 2022 to 2025, Usman has won just one out of his four fights. Meanwhile, the No. 2-ranked welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry fought Shavkat Rakhmonov on short notice in 2024 and lost, but then bounced back. In 2025, the Irishman won on short notice against Carlos Prates and recently defeated former champion Belal Muhammad at UFC Qatar.
Garry, the short-notice risk-taker, has been calling out Islam Makhachev ever since beating Muhammad. Nonetheless, opinions within the MMA community regarding the next contender for the title are divided. Usman, Garry, Michael Morales, and Prates are some of the names.
Ariel Helwani recently pointed out how Garry has been active and even taken short-notice fights this year. Hence, the next obvious choice is ‘The Future’ over Usman. Rejecting Ali Abdelaziz’s recent comments, Helwani posted:
Ian Machado Garry has done more in the past year — won more, fought more, and helped the UFC more — than Kamaru Usman has in the last four years. In the past year, Ian Machado Garry has fought three times: a short-notice fight against Shavkat, a short-notice win in a main event against Carlos Prates, and then he defeated former champion Belal Muhammad. I’m sorry, Ian is the obvious choice over Kamaru.”
Check out Ariel Helwani’s comments below:
UFC Approached Islam Makhachev for January 2026 Fight, Ian Machado Garry Among Potential Opponents
As per Ali Abdelaziz, the UFC reached out to newly minted UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev to defend his 170-pound championship in January 2026. The MMA manager stated that the two opponents available were Ian Machado Garry and Kamaru Usman.
But Makhachev’s training partner and friend, Khabib Nurmagomedov, rejected the proposal. Abdelaziz told MMA Junkie:
“Even the UFC reached out to me; they were asking [Islam] to fight a main event in January. He thought about it, and Khabib said, ‘Hey, shut up.’ Honestly, Kamaru’s name was in the mix for January. Ian Garry’s name was in the mix, too.”
Check out Ali Abdelaziz’s comments below:
Possibly, Nurmagomedov did not second the offer since Makhachev made his welterweight debut at UFC 322 in November, and a fight so soon after could be taxing because he would need to undergo another weight cut and training camp.
