Following his UFC Kansas City main event win last Saturday, Ian Machado Garry announced that he is the backup fighter for the UFC 315 welterweight title bout between champion Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena.
Machado Garry accepted the UFC Kansas City fight against Carlos Prates on short notice. He revealed during an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show that he had it written in his contract that if he defeated Prates he would be the backup fighter for the championship fight. He defeated Prates by unanimous decision and the fight promotion made good on the agreement.
Being the backup fighter for a title fight may or may not mean that you’re next in line for a title shot. While Machado Garry believes he should get a title fight next, he has not been promised one by the UFC.
“I believe I’m next. That’s the way I believe it. I made sure when I took this fight that I was given another opportunity because that’s what happens when you save cards. You get opportunities,” Machdo Garry said.
“I negotiated it into my contract that when I win I get the opportunity to go and be the backup. But also, when you take back-to-back fights on short notice and you save the UFC in two cards in a row, those rewards pay off.”
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Garry continued to state his case for deserving a title shot but admitted that the fight promotion hasn’t promised him anything beyond being the UFC 315 backup fighter.
“For me, there is no one more exciting in the division (than me) right now. There’s no one getting as much attention. This is no one that if you put the champion of the welterweight division versus Ian Machado Garry that will beat that right now,” he said.
When asked if he’s been promised a title fight, Machado Garry admitted, “I have not been promised anything.”
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