People are still talking about Ian Machado Garry in the lead-up to his UFC 310 co-main event with Shavkat Rakhmonov. But the tone has changed quite considerably since he took the bout with his fellow unbeaten.
Before, many saw the Irishman as all talk and no action, despite his 15-0 pro record and a UFC slate that has seen him defeat the likes of Michael Page, Geoff Neal and Neil Magny in successive bouts. But when you’re a confident young man not shy about speaking your mind, that can rub a lot of people the wrong way. Those folks have been harder to find when Garry agreed to move from a December 14 bout with Joaquin Buckley to Saturday’s matchup with the 18-0 Rakhmonov.
And for a man who walks the walk as well as talks the talk, taking this assignment was a no brainer.
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“I've had too many fights in the UFC against opponents I've not wanted to fight, where I've not been interested. I've not been excited,” Machado Garry said. “I don't know if it sounds a bit wrong to say that, but I want to be the best in the world and I want to fight the best in the world. And when I've only been successful and all I've done is win and I'm 15-0 in my career, I want to keep raising that ladder substantially every single time. I don't want to fight down the rankings. I want to fight up. I want to fight the next best guys. I want to fight the guys who are contenders. I want to fight the champions.”

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Rakhmonov was supposed to fight for the welterweight title on Saturday night, but when champion Belal Muhammad was sidelined by injury, the “Nomad” was left without a fight. Now he’s got one, with the winner getting that title shot when Muhammad returns. It’s high stakes in Las Vegas, but it’s exactly what Machado Garry has been chasing since he turned pro in 2019.
“That's the fight I live for,” he said. “Undefeated versus undefeated for the number one contender in the UFC. This, in my mind, should have been a world title fight. I believe that Shavkat was going to beat Belal, and then the next was going to be me versus Shavkat. So, for me, this is my world title fight. This is the guy who I believe is going to be the champion. So it's my job to go out there and beat him so that he never gets a belt wrapped on his waist.”
UFC 310 COUNTDOWN: Rakhmonov vs Machado Garry
Bold words, but that’s been the Irishman’s M.O. from the start. And he’s backed up those bold words every step of the way. And the way he sees it, like Muhammad Ali said, “It ain’t bragging if you can back it up.”

“When it comes to confidence, you need to be able to tell the world what you're going to do and go do it,” Machado Garry explains. “If you can't, then there is a lack of confidence. If I'm sitting here saying, ‘I'm going to fight X and I'm going to do this to X, oh, but maybe I might,’ that's not confidence. When you are confident and you are aware of how good you are and how talented you are and how far you're willing to push yourself to make something possible, confidence isn't a question. You go out there, you speak about it, you say, ‘I'm going to do this.’ For example, I'm fighting the scariest man in the division on December 7th. Everybody's turning him down. 18-0, 18 finishes. That excites me. That doesn't scare me, that excites me. Everyone in the world thinks the guy's the boogeyman in the division. I'm going to go out there on December 7th and shock everyone else's world because in my world I'm going to beat him.”
Truth be told, the 27-year-old Dubliner could be lined up to fight the entire heavyweight Top 10 on the same night and feel the same way, but that’s just the way he’s built, and his confidence is similar to that of most fighters. The only difference is, he tells the world exactly how he feels. That honesty is rare.
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“I believe that there are humans walking around this Earth that have just been gifted talent, that God has gifted them talent and abundance and I believe I'm one of them,” he said. “I believe I'm different. I believe I'm talented beyond my own belief and it's up to me to go out there, find it in myself and show it to the world.”
He also has a history with Rakhmonov from their time training together at the Kill Cliff FC camp in South Florida. It’s not a bad blood thing, just a reality that they did put on the gloves and work.
“Both of us went in there and we always had good work,” said Machado Garry. “He was great on the feet. He was great at wrestling. He's great at grappling. He's great everywhere. At that point, he was definitely better than I was. I can tell you that now, but that was two years ago. I've learned a lot since then. I've grown a lot since then. I've matured a lot since then. I'm telling you now, December 7th, I'm going to prove that I'm the better fighter.”
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There’s that honesty again. And maybe, just maybe, if Machado Garry believes it enough, he’s going to be the first to put a mark in Rakhomonov’s loss column. And that’s the plan.
Win. In devastating fashion.
“My performances so far in the UFC have shown me how talented I am without really trying, but there is so much more that should have been done,” Machado Garry said. “MVP should have been unconscious. Geoff Neal should have been unconscious and that's on me. This fight, I'm not leaving that Octagon unless Shavkat Rakhmonov is unconscious.”
UFC 310: Pantoja vs Asakura took place live from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 7, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!