UFC commentator Jon Anik has a suggestion for the UFC 310 main event that will probably not go down well with fans. Newly-minted welterweight champ Belal Muhammad was set to defend his title for the first time against undefeated boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov on the December 7 PPV card. However, he has been forced to pull out due to an injury.
The UFC color commentator feels there should be an interim title clash featuring the Kazakh native instead. Since #4 ranked Jack Della Maddalena is injured at the moment, Anik thinks controversial and undefeated #7 ranked Ian Garry should be slotted in opposite ‘Nomad’ at UFC 310.
“Not my expectation…but in the event of an interim UFC welterweight title fight, Jack Della Maddalena would appear to have the best case to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov. I don’t believe three-name Jack is healthy, though. Ian Machado Garry’s case/schedule is just as strong!” he wrote.
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Not my expectation…but in the event of an interim UFC welterweight title fight, Jack Della Maddalena would appear to have the best case to fight Shavkat Rakhmonov. I don’t believe three-name Jack is healthy, though. Ian Machado Garry’s case/schedule is just as strong!
— Jon Anik (@Jon_Anik) November 2, 2024
Speaking of the suggestion not going down well with the fans, that indeed seems to be the case. So much so that the UFC’s lead play-by-play commentator had to send out another tweet shortly after the first one defending his pick for the potential interim title clash.
“Ian Machado Garry is 15-0, coming off back-to-back SIGNATURE wins v. the hard-to-beat Michael Venom Page and Geoff Neal. He is assuredly worthy of a title shot (don’t @ me) and yet here he is FIGHTING down in the rankings so as to headline the UFC show in Tampa. RESPECT, no?” Anik asked.
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Garry, despite his undefeated record and world-class striking prowess, is not very popular among fans. The Irishman got into an embarrassing situation with fans and fellow UFC fighters over his wife and has had a few underwhelming fights, which has turned the MMA community off of him. But to be fair to Anik, there are not many other choices that the UFC has if it wants to set up an interim title clash featuring Shavkat Rakhmonov.
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Is Jon Anik's push for Ian Garry a desperate move or a strategic masterstroke?
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Who else could face Rakhmonov for the interim title at UFC 310?
The #1 ranked fighter in the division is Leon Edwards, who was thoroughly dominated by Muhammad earlier this year and thus is not in a position for an immediate rematch. #2 ranked Kamaru Usman could be a potential contender to fight Rakhmonov at UFC 310, but two things go against him. One, the UFC wants young blood in the title picture for now. Two, and more importantly, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ hasn’t fought at welterweight for over a year and is 0-3 in his last three outings.
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At #3 is Rakhmonov himself, followed by Maddalena, who is injured. This brings us to the other most compelling candidate for a UFC 310 interim title clash in the form of #5 ranked Sean Brady. The American is young, on a two-fight win streak, has just one loss on his record, and is ranked in the top five.
Ranked one place below Brady is the bombastic Colby Covington, who is probably on his last legs and coming off a loss, disqualifying him from the interim title clash. At #7 is Ian Garry himself, followed by Gilbert Burns, who is on a three-fight skid. So while Anik is right that Garry is the clear front-runner, Sean Brady too is up there in contention for a potential interim welterweight title clash against Shavkat Rakhmonov. What do you think about Anik’s suggestion regarding the welterweight division? Tell us in the comments below!
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Is Jon Anik's push for Ian Garry a desperate move or a strategic masterstroke?