Ian Machado Garry made his case for a welterweight title shot by winning a unanimous decision over former champion Belal Muhammad.
In the co-feature of UFC Fight Night 265 at ABHA Arena in Doha, Qatar, Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) utilized his range and effective striking to win a unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) over Muhammad (24-5 MMA, 15-5 UFC).
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The fight got off to a rocky start when Machado Garry poked Muhammad in the eye just as the early striking exchanges were heating up, pausing the action for nearly two minutes. On the restart, the striking exchanges continued with both fighters landing, but Machado Garry getting the better of it. The struggle for Muhammad was trying to find a way inside the long reach of Machado Garry, who also landed some heavy calf kicks.
Early in Round 2, Muhammad kept the pressure high with strikes and level changes, but couldn’t get the fight to the ground. With just over a minute to go in the round, Machado Garry poked Muhammad in the eye a second time, pausing the fight again. The referee restarted the fight without taking a point.
Entering the final round, the fight seemingly hung in the balance. Muhammad stepped on the gas, bringing the fight to Machado Garry. Although Muhammad landed a few nice strikes, Machado Garry connected with the more damaging strikes as he stuck and moved on the outside.
With the win, Machado Garry makes it back-to-back as he builds his case for a shot at the welterweight title. He has some stiff competition with Carlos Prates and Michael Morales making statements with their finishes at UFC 322. So, Machado Garry cut a stellar promo on the microphone after the fight.
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“Belal couldn’t take me down, so Islam, you try to take me down,” Machado Garry said during his post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. “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 on the planet – and you’re looking at him. It’s Ian Machado Garry. You come into my division, and you show up wherever you want in the world, and I’ll be there. And I’m taking that throne from you, and I’m ending that continuous streak. You’re done.”
Muhammad falls to 0-2 in 2025. In May at UFC 315, he lost the title by unanimous decision to Jack Della Maddalena.
Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 265 results:
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Ian Machado Garry def. Belal Muhammad via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Qatar: Ian Machado Garry outworks Muhammad, calls out Makhachev
