Ian Machado Garry’s head coach Diego Lima defends that the Irishman should be next in line for the UFC welterweight title against Islam Makhachev after going 10-1 inside the octagon.
Garry beat Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad in 2025 after dropping a short-notice decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov, the sole defeat of his professional career, and the Chute Boxe leader downplayed the idea that former champion Kamaru Usman could get the opportunity after only winning one of his past four bouts.
“I think there
are several factors contributing to why they want this — one of them is that whoever speaks for Makhachev also speaks for Usman,” Lima told MMA Fighting, citing the fact that both athletes are managed by Ali Abdelaziz. “So because of that, for me, I’d just let it go and not even discuss it.”
“Let’s be rational,” he continued. “The division today is one of the toughest in the UFC. This division is truly impressive. It’s a division where it’s hard to pick a favorite in almost every fight. … But I believe that, without a doubt, the fight to make for the title is Ian Garry. For everything. For what he’s shown, who he’s faced, how he’s faced them, the short notice on which he accepted fights, the intelligence he’s demonstrated, and the fact he sells. He sells a lot. I believe he has all the characteristics and requirements to face Islam Makhachev for the welterweight 170 title.”
Playing matchmaker at welterweight, Lima said he would love to watch rising talents Prates and Michael Morales face each other for the next opportunity, but sees a scenario where the UFC books Prates against Jack Della Maddalena and Morales vs. Rakhmonov or Usman instead.
“I believe a fight [between Makhachev and] Ian would be incredible, a very good one,” Lima said. “A fight where strategic intelligence would bring the result. And then, my friend, with all due respect to him and his team — a guy who was very cool with us, incredibly polite both before we fought and after the fight, there’s nothing bad to say about him. Quite the opposite, only praise. But I’m 100 percent Ian Garry.”
Lima justified his pick on Maddalena to beat Makhachev at UFC 322 in November of 2025 because the former lightweight champion “exposes himself” on the feet in all his previous fights, and Maddalena would pose a big treater given his boxing skills.
“However, it was very good that Makhachev’s fight lasted five rounds because he showed himself to be a completely different fighter than he was at 155,” Lima said. “He became a much smarter fighter and didn’t expose himself at any moment. He didn’t do what he used to do at 155, where he really exposed himself. When Maddalena took a step forward, he took a step back. At no point did he stay within Maddalena’s range, except to execute his plan, and he did so perfectly, because he never got frustrated with his game plan. This fight was very important for studying him.”
“I really liked the fight,” he added. “I thought it was a beautiful fight. There were criticisms, but I think the people who truly criticize this fight are fans who don’t really understand the sport itself and end up rooting simply for the show. But for those who live this, those who understand the techniques deeply, that was a spectacle. It was a very high-level fight that I enjoyed a lot. I didn’t blink for a second. His dominance over Maddalena was impressive.”
As Lima awaits UFC’s decision on the next move for Garry, the Chute Boxe leader focuses on preparing Charles Oliveira for a highly anticipated UFC 326 rematch with Max Holloway for the BMF title on March 7.
On top of that, Lima expects Allan Nascimento and Daniel Santos, both on four-fight winning streaks in the UFC, to return by April. Gabriel Santos, winner of two in a row, should be back in action in the first half of the year, he said.
Elves Brenner took some time off after a few “wars” in the UFC and recently returned to training, Lima said. As for Marco Tulio, a middleweight who underwent two surgeries after fracturing his forehead in his most recent fight against Christian Leroy Duncan, the plan is to resume sparring in February.
“We ended 2025 with 13 UFC wins,” Lima said. “And we’re going to multiply that in 2026.”
