Ian Machado Garry is taking his title loss to Islam Makhachev in stride.
In the main event of UFC 330, Machado Garry (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) went the distance with Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) in his welterweight title opportunity, but came up short on the scorecards. Despite the loss, Machado Garry remained in good spirits after the result, as he vowed to return better than before.
"Tonight wasn't my night," Garry said in a video posted to Instagram . "I feel great, I did great, Islam was just better than me tonight, and that's OK. I want everybody who loves me and supports me and wants to see me do better, I want you to know that I'm gonna be back. I'm not disheartened by this. I'm bulletproof in my mind. I'll be back. I'm 28 years of age. I just fought arguably the greatest fighter we've ever seen in this sport – and I pushed him to the f*cking wire, and I'm so proud of myself, and I'm so proud of my team, and everything that we've done. I'm so proud of what I've done in this world and who I've become; nobody's stopping me.
"Tonight was not my night. Islam, your team, congratulations. You guys did amazing. I have nothing but love and respect for everything you guys have done in this sport – I've said that to you. I'll be back. There's plenty of matchups in this sport. Plenty of fun matchups that I'm excited for. We'll be back, and we'll be better than ever. I love you all. Let's go, baby."
Machado Garry suffered just the second loss of his career. His first came in December 2024 by way of unanimous decision against Shavkat Rakhmonov. After that fight, he defeated top contender Carlos Prates and former champion Belal Muhammad on the scorecards to earn a title shot against Makhachev.
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