Ian Machado Garry wants to cement his greatness the old-school way.
Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) challenges welterweight champion Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 330 main event (Paramount+) at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
Makhachev is being discussed as one of the greatest of all time after capturing belts in two divisions and breaking the UFC lightweight title defense record. He will also aim to break the record for longest active win streak in UFC history.
As for Machado Garry, he plans on etching his name in a different fashion.
"It starts by proving I'm the best against the guy that people consider to be the best right now," Garry said in an interview with the UFC. "And then it's going to be the rightful
challenger every single time, consistently over the next decade. I'm 28 years of age, I have a decade of domination in this sport if I choose to, and I want to be remembered as one of the greatest of all time. I want it to be undeniable, and I need to make sure that (I have) title reigns like Demetrious Johnson, and Jon Jones, and those long, dominant title reigns.
"That is what I consider to be the greatest – those long, dominant title reigns. Double champions, they're less important now. They're less special now because people are waiting for the right opportunity. What makes me different, or what separates me from these champions, is that I will want to win (No.) 1 through 15 in the top 15. I will want to have a win over every single greatest welterweight on the planet to prove that I'm the best. There is no question here, at the time period when I competed, I beat every single competitor in my division. I beat them, it's undeniable."
Machado Garry's resume already includes wins over Michael Page, top contender Carlos Prates, and former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ian Machado Garry eyes long title reign as double champs are 'less special now'
