Ian Machado Garry is being underestimated ahead of UFC 330, says Belal Muhammad
UFC welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry is being underestimated ahead of the UFC 330 main event, claims his former rival Belal Muhammad.
Next month, Ian Machado Garry will challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC welterweight championship. Machado Garry has done an incredible job of building himself up to this point, and he knows better than anyone that he will likely only get one shot at Islam.
For Ian Machado Garry, this is the moment he has been waiting for. He has already been able to get through some big names in the welterweight division, but Makhachev is the ultimate test for anyone who wants to be known as one of the best.
Belal Muhammad, who lost to Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar last year, had the following to say about both the Irishman and Makhachev.
Belal Muhammad on Islam Makhachev vs Ian Machado Garry
“It’s so crazy,” Muhammad told MMA Junkie. “It’s so easy to lose in this sport. Anything can happen. You can literally walk and slip and catch something, or walk into something. What he’s doing is wild, and also to do it at two weight classes is even bigger. I don’t think that people are understanding how hard it is to put that big of a streak on and get a double digit streak in the UFC. It’s one of the craziest things, and you’re fighting the best guys in the world every single time. That’s going to put him (Makhachev) on Mt. Rushmore.
Belal did, however, fight the corner of his former foe Machado Garry.
“I just think a lot of people are underestimating Ian,” Muhammad said. “He’s very smart with the way he fights and strategizes and game plans. But obviously Islam is pound-for-pound, but I definitely think Ian is a live dog.
“If he gets taken down, it’s not going to be the same situation as when Shavkat (Rakhmonov) took him down and did a good job holding him. He’s not going to be able to hold a guy like Islam in his guard. Islam is more of a threat on the ground than Shavkat was. If he thinks, ‘Oh, if he takes me down I’m just going to hold my guard and body triangle him and wait for the ref to stand us up,’ that’s not going to be the case.”
Quotes via MMA Junkie
