“I will take his 0, and I will take that belt.” Ian Machado Garry isn’t pulling punches ahead of UFC 310. On December 7th, Garry (15-0) and Shavkat Rakhmonov (18-0) will step into the Octagon as two undefeated forces, vying for a shot at the welterweight title. Both men have trained together, but ‘The Future’ Garry seems to be adamant about the outcome.

Chael Sonnen, as always, breaks it down best, “You submit or knock out every man you’ve ever faced. Can we all agree, you should be fighting for some kind of title?” he asked, highlighting the absurd dominance both fighters bring into this bout. Yet here they are, putting their perfect records on the line, knowing only one can come out unscathed. “It is a sneaky good fight but it’s a sneakily important fight,” Sonnen continued. Because “the winner of this, make no mistake, will be fighting against Muhammad for the title.”

It’s not just the stakes that have people talking, it’s the dynamic between the fighters themselves. Both men have trained together at Kill Cliff FC, and Sonnen believes that history has made this fight unique. “Because of the relationship they have, you’re never going to count on Rakhmonov to be screaming from a rooftop with a megaphone, you can’t count on for that. You can count on Garry though, you can’t expect him to do that in this case and it’s for those reasons that this is kind of going by ideally,” he said disheartened about the minimal noise around this bout.

An Ian Garry – Shavkat Rakhmonov clash was not on the cards for 2024

What makes this fight even more fascinating is how it came together. Garry wasn’t originally slated to face Rakhmonov at all. Initially, he was scheduled to fight Joaquin Buckley, a matchup that left him disappointed. “Honestly, I was pushing for the Shavkat fight…..undefeated vs. undefeated” Garry revealed on his YouTube channel. The door opened when the current welterweight champion, Belal Muhammad had to pull out of his title defense due to injury.

That left ‘Nomad’ Shavkat Rakhmonov, the #3 ranked welterweight, without an opponent. Enter Garry. With his “anyone, anywhere, anytime” mentality, the Irishman jumped at the chance. And suddenly, what might have been a low-stakes card for Garry turned into one of the most anticipated matchups for him, and to be honest to the MMA community. “I believe my greatness is about to be witnessed by the entire world,” Garry said confidently. “It’s on me to showcase it.”

“I think Shavkat and Ian Garry, both undefeated, both guys are right there at the top and they both called each other out before Ian said he wanted that fight before, but it makes a lot of sense and I’m excited to see how it goes,” Muhammad said in a recent interview. He’s been vocal in praising both the fighters, but make no mistake, the stakes go far beyond the ranking for these two. For the winner, the path to the title is clear. For the loser? The road back to contention could be long and unforgiving.

Hence, this fight isn’t just another co-main event. It’s a statement about the future of the welterweight division. When the cage door closes on December 7th, the welterweight division will never look the same. Are you ready for the shake-up? Let us know in the comments below!