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UFC 315 backup Ian Machado Garry breaks down Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena
Ian Machado Garry will either be an interested front-row spectator at UFC 315, or he’ll be situated in the centre of the cage competing for the title on short notice in the main event.
Ian Machado Garry will fill one of two roles on Saturday night in Montreal.
Either the No. 6-ranked welterweight contender will be an interested spectator with a front-row seat, or he’ll be situated in the centre of the cage competing for the title on short notice in the main event of UFC 315 presented by Skilled Trades College.
Machado Garry is in Quebec to serve as the official backup fighter if either the champion, Belal Muhammad, or challenger, Jack Della Maddalena, are unable to compete for any reason.
He is less than two weeks removed from a five-round unanimous decision win over Carlos Prates, and Machado Garry told Sportsnet’s Aaron Bronsteter Tuesday that he negotiated this UFC 315 opportunity into his contract for his bout with Prates, which he accepted on short notice.
“I said if I’m going to do another short-notice turnaround to save you guys and give you something that you need, you’ve got to reward me with something in return and that was that I can be here,” Machado Garry said. “Opportunity’s a brilliant thing. If one of those guys slips up, you best believe I’m gonna be here to take that chance.”
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Watch UFC 315 on Sportsnet+
Belal Muhammad faces Jack Della Maddalena for the welterweight title and women’s flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko takes on top contender Manon Fiorot in the UFC’s anticipated return to Montreal. Watch UFC 315 on Saturday, May 10 with prelim coverage beginning 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and pay-per-view main card starting at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT.
The win over Prates, during which he was rocked late in the final round by his Brazilian opponent, returned Machado Garry to the win column.
The 27-year-old from Ireland had been coming off a five-round decision loss to No. 2-ranked Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December, another matchup Machado Garry accepted on less than a month’s notice.
“I’m going to reach for the stars and hope everything lines up,” Machado Garry said. “I fought on three weeks’ notice (against Prates), I beat one of the most dangerous guys. I’m here in Canada, I’m ready, I’m on weight, I’m good, everything is ready to go, I’m recovered.”
Not every UFC main event or title fight has a designated backup fighter assigned yet sometimes one is needed.
In January at UFC 311 for example there was no official backup, so when Arman Tsarukyan withdrew with a back injury roughly 36 hours before the event the organization was left scrambling to find a last-minute opponent for lightweight champion Islam Makhachev. Renato Moicano was pulled from a matchup with Beneil Dariush and given a shot against the champ. Ultimately not having a backup resulted in a second great matchup not happening that night.
Late last year, at UFC 309 in New York, interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall was ready to go as the backup for Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic but was not needed.
Machado Garry added that he won’t be picky and that he’s willing to fight either man on Saturday but would prefer to face Muhammad since beating the reigning champion would mean more.
“Jack’s a clean, tidy boxer. I think he can cause trouble for Belal if Belal allows him to. I think Belal is – GSP called him the complete package; he can do everything – and I think having someone that can do that at a high level and at a high pace is always a tough task,” Machado Garry said of the scheduled 170-pound main event. “So, both of these guys are both great opponents.”
No 1-ranked welterweight contender Sean Brady, who’s coming off a dominant win over former champion Leon Edwards in March, is also expected to be cageside in Montreal taking in the action.
Something to note is just because Machado Garry is serving as the official backup fighter this week doesn’t necessarily mean he is also guaranteed a shot to face the winner if he goes unneeded.
Before Della Maddalena was given this title opportunity, Rakhmonov was expected to face Muhammad at UFC 315. The unbeaten star from Kazakhstan is still recovering from a knee injury he reportedly sustained before his win over Machado Garry. Rakhmonov posted on social media in February that he expects to get the next title shot once he’s healthy.
Interestingly, Machado Garry added on Tuesday he is skeptical that Rakhmonov will compete in 2025 at all by saying: “I don’t think Shavkat’s fighting this year, let’s just put it that way.”
UFC 315 marks the organization’s return to Montreal for the first time in 10 years.
