Ian Machado Garry had his hand raised at UFC Qatar, but it doesn’t sound like he’s guaranteed to be elevated to the No. 1 contender spot at 170 pounds.
After a hard-fought, three-round co-main event battle, Garry earned a unanimous decision nod over former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad. It was a comfortable win for Garry against a game Muhammad, but the lack of an exclamation point in the fight left some observers feeling cold as far as Garry’s championship hopes go. On the heels of spectacular
wins by Michael Morales and Carlos Prates at UFC 322, not to mention the ascendance of now two-division champion Islam Makhachev, Garry had to show a lot Saturday to establish himself as the no-doubt next man in line and judging by the pros reactions, he fell short.
Henry Cejudo scored the fight for Garry, but added, “There’s now way he deserves a title shot for that performance.” Cejudo’s Pound 4 Pound podcast co-host and title shot front-runner Kamaru Usman responded with a yawn emoji, as did Morales, who also aims to be Makhachev’s first welterweight title defense.
Check out more social media reactions to the UFC Qatar co-main event below.
