Ian Machado Garry Outguns Belal Muhammad, Calls for Title Fight with Islam Makhachev – UFC Qatar Highlights
Ian Machado Garry earned the biggest win of his career at UFC Qatar, defeating former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in the co-main event.
There was a moment of deja vu early when Garry accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye during an exchange. Unlike the infamous incident against Leon Edwards, Muhammad was good to go after a couple of minutes. Before that, Garry had already started to find some success on the feet, causing a cut on Muhammad’s left cheek.
Muhammad more than held his own in the striking, repeatedly finding a home for his right hand while Garry worked the lead leg attack.
The second round saw Muhammad attempt to showcase his grappling game, though he was unable to get Garry down to the mat. With little more than a minute left in the stanza, Garry appeared to poke Muhammad in the eye once again, bringing a brief pause to the contest. Luckily, this foul didn’t seem to be as egregious as the first, allowing the fight to continue relatively quickly.
Muhammad finished up the second clinching against the fence and came up short on another takedown attempt.
The third round remained extremely competitive, with neither fighter able to secure a clear upper hand in the striking or the grappling. After three rounds of back-and-forth action, we went to the scorecards.
Official Result: Ian Machado Garry def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).
