Ian Machado Garry proclaimed that it was his "destiny" to defeat Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 and become the new welterweight champion. Reality, however, proved otherwise.
Machado Garry (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) gave a solid account of himself in a unanimous decision loss to Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) on Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Victory was not out of his reach, he just didn't have the start he needed or produce enough effective offense to capitalize on what felt like a winnable scenario for him.
It will be a tough pill for Machado Garry to swallow once he watches the fight back and sees that he could've made this result even closer than it was, but there should also be a high degree of confidence he will take it the right
way and grow. His comments in the immediate aftermath of the fight showed he didn't lose an ounce of confidence in himself, and that should carry him to a better place going forward.
Machado Garry is entirely accurate when he notes he's only 28, and could easily have another decade of high-level competition ahead of him. There is a solid chance he finds himself back in a title fight one day, it's just a question of how long that will take.
It's no guarantee, though, because the welterweight division is as good as it gets, and it's entirely possible he can't get past the next killer that will undoubtedly be standing across the octagon from him next time out, and be set back even further. He's in the range of the weight class now where zero easy fights are coming his way.
There are some interesting options in front of Machado Garry at this point. He laid the groundwork for a Michael Morales matchup after a backstage interaction between the two that was caught on camera, but that is only in play if Morales (19-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) doesn't get the next title fight with Makhachev, which will surely be his focus.
If not that, then a former champion like Kamaru Usman (21-5 MMA, 16-4 UFC) or Jack Della Maddalena (18-4 MMA, 8-2 UFC) could be logical, with some foundation in place for either of those pairings, too. Those would likely be preferential matchups for Machado Garry given both ex-titleholders have lost more than won in recent outings, and potentially give him a chance to deliver an emphatic result that gets him back on a title trajectory.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean Shelby's Shoes: What's next for Ian Machado Garry after UFC 330 loss?
