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		<title>What&#8217;s Next: UFC Qatar Winners</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/24/whats-next-ufc-qatar-winners/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mathis Desjardins]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2025 02:40:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arman Tsarukyan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kyoji Horiguchi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Myktybek Orolbai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC Fight Night 265]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Volkan Oezdemir]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Waldo Cortes-Acosta]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=218136</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The UFC&#8217;s first ever trip to Qatar and fifth trip this year to the Middle East featured a bunch of fun, important fights with UFC Qatar topped by a pair of potential number one contender bouts. The main card was off to a hot start as Volkan Oezdemir, Myktybek Orolbai, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Kyoji Horiguchi [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/24/whats-next-ufc-qatar-winners/" data-wpel-link="internal">What&#8217;s Next: UFC Qatar Winners</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The UFC&#8217;s first ever trip to Qatar and fifth trip this year to the Middle East featured a bunch of fun, important fights with UFC Qatar topped by a pair of potential number one contender bouts.</p>
<p>The main card was off to a hot start as Volkan Oezdemir, Myktybek Orolbai, Waldo Cortes-Acosta and Kyoji Horiguchi all scored impressive finishes on our way to our top two fights. In the main and co-main events, Arman Tsarukyan and Ian Machado Garry both called for title shots after their wins. With UFC Qatar now in the books, let’s look at <strong>what’s next</strong> for the winners.</p>
<h2>Arman Tsarukyan</h2>
<p>After pulling out 24 hours away from his rematch against Islam Makhachev at the start of the year, the UFC clearly wasn’t happy with the Armenian. That’s why he was tasked with winning another bout even after already having earned his title shot. Being the massive betting favourite he was, Tsarukyan had the pressure of not only beating Dan Hooker but doing so in a way that would cement his number one contender status. That’s what he accomplished as he battered the Kiwi on his way to a second-round submission stoppage.</p>
<p>Rumours seem to be flying around that Ilia Topuria will headline the first numbered event of the Paramount era in January. The consensus seems to be that Paddy Pimblett will be his opponent due to the Englishman’s star power and their history. However, Tsarukyan still called for the shot in January, saying he will be ready. There’s no question that from a meritocratic standpoint, Tsarukyan is way ahead of Pimblett in the queue, but time will tell whether the UFC will still opt for Pimblett in January. One thing is certain, whether it’s in January or later, Tsarukyan’s next fight has to be for the lightweight title.</p>
<p><em>Tsarukyan’s next fight: Title shot</em></p>
<h2>Ian Machado Garry</h2>
<p>Like Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry called for a title shot after beating Belal Muhammad. Unlike Tsarukyan, Ian Machado Garry did not put on the type of performance that will solidify his status as the number one contender. While you could do worse than pick the Irishman as Makhachev’s first title defence, he hasn’t had a truly inspiring win in some time. His loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov upped his stock in a big way, but it was still a loss. His last four wins came against Geoff Neal, Michael Page, Carlos Prates and now Belal Muhammad. All very good names, but none of those tests were passed with what you would call “flying colours”. If anything, I think this win by Garry helps both Rakhmonov and Michael Morales’ cases for a shot. Prates is coming off back-to-back sensational KOs, but his loss to Garry will keep him behind the Irishman. That is also why I think Garry’s loss to Rakhmonov will probably end up keeping him behind the Kazakh fighter. With the public opinion seemingly being that Morales needs one more win, Shavkat will likely get the first crack Makhachev’s belt. That leaves Garry with one of Jack Della Maddalena, Morales, and Kamaru Usman as the contenders he hasn’t faced yet. I like the JDM vs Prates idea a lot, and I think Morales could actually slide into a shot without an issue. So give me Ian Machado Garry and Kamaru Usman in yet another number one contender fight.</p>
<p><em>Machado Garry’s next fight: Kamaru Usman</em></p>
<h2>Volkan Oezdemir</h2>
<p>The fighter from Switzerland stayed put as one of the steadiest fighters in the company. He never allows himself to go on long losing streaks that could derail his career, but he hasn’t put together the kind of win streak to get into the title picture ever since making a splash seven years ago. It feels like he’s been in the top10 forever and this latest first-round KO of Alonzo Menifield will keep him there for a little while longer. It both feels like you could throw any name at him while also having already fought everyone. I think a sensical matchup for Oezdemir next is the winner of the Nikita Krylov vs Modestas Bukauskas fight in January. Whether it’s a Krylov rematch or a streaking Bukauskas, we can count on Volkan to show up and be a knockout threat.</p>
<p><em>Oezdemir’s next fight: Krylov/Bukauskas winner</em></p>
<h2>Myktybek Orolbai</h2>
<p>A strange fight took place as a former lightweight and a former middleweight met in the middle at welterweight. On paper, the matchup was interesting since there were good reasons to favour both fighters. Yes, Hermansson was the naturally bigger fighter, but he’s now 37 coming off an absolutely brutal KO loss in June. Meanwhile, Orolbai looked a lot smaller, but being 10 years Hermansson’s junior really paid off. Orolbai just walked a tentative Hermansson down and kept throwing looping right hands, just waiting for one of them to land. When he finally connected cleanly on one of them, that was all she wrote. It’ll be interesting to see what Orolbai can do at welterweight after missing weight multiple times at 155 lbs. There’s no wrong way to match him up, but I’d like to see him face Chidi Njokuani next, who’s also a former middleweight.</p>
<p><em>Orolbai’s next fight: Chidi Njokuani</em></p>
<h2>Waldo Cortes-Acosta</h2>
<p>Just three weeks removed from his wild finish of Ante Delija, and on just two days’ notice, “Salsa Boy” flew all the way to Doha to take care of Shamil Gaziev in a minute and twenty-two seconds. What’s even crazier is that Cortes-Acosta called for one more fight before the end of the year and while the calendar is coming to its end, I think the UFC could still squeeze him in if they really wanted to. I think the only fighter that might be down to get off the couch and face WCS on short notice is someone like Derrick Lewis. “The Black Beast” has a lot of respect for the ones who stand-and-bang, so I feel like Cortes-Acosta has gotten on his radar by now. The UFC is in need of some fun storylines, so why not put it as a co-main to Royval and Kape to end the year?</p>
<p><em>Cortes-Acosta’s next fight: Derrick Lewis</em></p>
<h2>Kyoji Horiguchi</h2>
<p>Almost exactly 9 years after his last UFC fight, the 35-year-old looked as good as ever in his dominant showing over Tagir Ulanbekov, who had won four straight coming in. In those 9 years outside the MMA leader, Horiguchi’s only losses came against Kai Asakura (whom he also beat), as well as Sergio Pettis and Patchy Mix a bantamweight. His first stint in RIZIN also included a submission win over Manel Kape. This fight proved that the Japanese fighter hasn’t slowed down and is still arguably a top5 flyweight in the world. With this win putting him in the division’s top10, he should face Amir Albazi next to see if he can crack the top5.</p>
<p><em>Horiguchi’s next fight: Amir Albazi</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/24/whats-next-ufc-qatar-winners/" data-wpel-link="internal">What&#8217;s Next: UFC Qatar Winners</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>&#8220;Little D*ck Energy&#8221;: Garry, Chimaev Have Backstage Altercation at UFC Qatar</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/22/ian-garry-khamzat-chimaev-backstage-altercation-ufc-qatar/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sat, 22 Nov 2025 23:22:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Khamzat Chimaev]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC Fight Night 265]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=218137</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The UFC staff and security team were quick to separate two of the promotion&#8217;s biggest stars backstage following UFC Qatar on Saturday. The promotion&#8217;s debut in Doha featured Ian Machado Garry in its co-main event, a fight that saw the Irish welterweight earn a unanimous decision win over ex-champ Belal Muhammad. Also on hand in [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/22/ian-garry-khamzat-chimaev-backstage-altercation-ufc-qatar/" data-wpel-link="internal">&#8220;Little D*ck Energy&#8221;: Garry, Chimaev Have Backstage Altercation at UFC Qatar</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The UFC staff and security team were quick to separate two of the promotion&#8217;s biggest stars backstage following UFC Qatar on Saturday.</p>
<p>The promotion&#8217;s debut in Doha featured Ian Machado Garry in its co-main event, a fight that saw the Irish welterweight earn a unanimous decision win over ex-champ Belal Muhammad. Also on hand in Doha was middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, who happened to be cornering headliner Arman Tsarukyan.</p>
<p>Managing any number of brash personalities is what fight promotions do, but Chimaev shoving Garry prior to the post-fight press conference was a little out of left field.</p>
<p>The two initially seemed cordial, until security appeared to step between them, leading Garry to exclaim that Chiamev wouldn&#8217;t fight him. That seemed to be based on the fact that their interaction had been cordial, rather than claiming that Chimaev was scared to fight him &#8211; but it set &#8220;Borz&#8221; off regardless. Chimaev gave Garry a shove after the latter asked him what was wrong, and suddenly, security had a reason to get involved.</p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s just childish. You&#8217;re supposed to be a champion in this sport,&#8221; Garry can be heard telling Chimaev immediately after the shove. Garry later <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DRX4NXzCPrq/" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">posted footage of the incident</a> on social media.</p>
<p>Garry also addressed the altercation during his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlM2WAXLXB4" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">post-fight press conference appearance</a>.</p>
<p class="gnt_ar_b_p">&#8220;I went up to Khamzat, I said, &#8216;Hey champ, what&#8217;s up? When are we gonna see you back?&#8217; He goes, &#8216;I don&#8217;t know, brother. Whenever. Smash.&#8217; I was like, &#8216;Alright, cool. Sweet.&#8217; Slaps me on the back, I&#8217;m like, alright, cool. Security guy gets in front of us. We literally were just cool with each other, he&#8217;s not gonna fight me – and then that childish energy comes out. &#8216;Ahh, f*ck you brother, f*ck you.&#8217; Boom. Tries to push me. I just turn around and went, &#8216;You&#8217;re meant to be a champion of this sport. You&#8217;re a child.&#8217; You&#8217;re taking away from your friend&#8217;s win over here. How about you calm down, slow down, and have a bit of respect for your friend over here instead of stealing the headlines.&#8221;</p>
<p>Garry would later label it with a mocking term for Chimaev&#8217;s manhood. &#8220;Do you want the honest truth? It&#8217;s little d*ck energy. You&#8217;re the champion of the world. No one needs to see you be tough. You don&#8217;t need to have these anger management issues. Just be a man. Sorry. I&#8217;ll get him one day.&#8221;</p>
<p>Chimaev, meanwhile, claimed <a href="https://x.com/RedCorner_MMA/status/1992353821843193923" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">in his own statement during Arman Tsarukyan&#8217;s post-fight press conference appearance</a> that Garry had punched him from behind, though no such action was seen in any video footage yet surfaced.</p>
<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t punch somebody from behind, you know. He punched, like slapping my back,&#8221; stated Chimaev. At one point, Garry is seen putting his arm on Chiamev&#8217;s shoulder, though not in an aggressive fashion and certainly not a punch. &#8220;If you want to show respect, respectfully touch somebody. That&#8217;s what I tell him, touch somebody respectful. But he came like that to make some hype. Like, you know that guy, trying to be Conor [McGregor]. He never gonna be Conor. He&#8217;s a sh*t fighter.&#8221;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/22/ian-garry-khamzat-chimaev-backstage-altercation-ufc-qatar/" data-wpel-link="internal">&#8220;Little D*ck Energy&#8221;: Garry, Chimaev Have Backstage Altercation at UFC Qatar</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>Former Champion Belal Muhammad Eyes Statement Win Against Ian Garry</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/20/former-champion-belal-muhammad-eyes-statement-win-against-ian-garry/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eddie Law]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 19:54:35 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belal Muhammad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC Qatar]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=217960</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad steps into UFC Qatar on Saturday night with one mission in mind, to fight his way back to the throne he briefly held. Facing rising contender Ian Garry in a high-stakes matchup, Muhammad enters determined, battle-tested, and fully focused on proving he’s still the man to beat at 170 [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/20/former-champion-belal-muhammad-eyes-statement-win-against-ian-garry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Former Champion Belal Muhammad Eyes Statement Win Against Ian Garry</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">Former UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad steps into UFC Qatar on Saturday night with one mission in mind, to fight his way back to the throne he briefly held. Facing rising contender Ian Garry in a high-stakes matchup, Muhammad enters determined, battle-tested, and fully focused on proving he’s still the man to beat at 170 pounds.</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node=""><a href="https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/32797-belal-muhammad" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Muhammad</a> (24-4) wasn’t certain Ian Garry would be next until a fellow former champion turned him down. According to Muhammad, Kamaru Usman declined the matchup, leaving him to pivot toward the biggest name available at 170 pounds, besides himself, rising star Ian Garry.</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&#8220;I think it became Ian once Kamaru Usman turned the fight down and ran away,&#8221; Muhammad told reporters on Wednesday.</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&#8220;Ian&#8217;s one of the guys that&#8217;s always willing to fight somebody and fight the toughest test. He was coming off a big win against (Carlos) Prates so it made the most sense.&#8221;</p>
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<p data-start="60" data-end="277" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">Muhammad didn’t mince words when discussing how the matchup came together. After Usman passed on the fight, Muhammad made it clear he took the decision personally, and as confirmation of what he’d long suspected.</p>
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<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&#8220;I&#8217;m not disappointed. I just know that he was afraid. For me, I&#8217;ve been trying to fight him for a long time,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&#8220;It just confirmed my thoughts that he&#8217;s a coward.&#8221;</p>
<p data-start="65" data-end="341">As fight week intensity ramps up, Belal Muhammad hasn’t shied away from addressing Ian Garry’s brash personality and nonstop trash talk. To him, the divide between Garry’s words and his actual performances is clearer than ever, and he plans to expose that gap on fight night.</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&#8220;I mean he&#8217;s a better talk than he is a fighter. I think, when we get into the cage, those words aren&#8217;t going to mean anything. I&#8217;m going to be standing in front of you and then you have to put those words to action,&#8221; said Muhammad.</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="">&#8220;When he tries to put those words into action my reaction is going to break him. He&#8217;s going to fold and we&#8217;ve seen him in his last fight. He was close to breaking point. I&#8217;m going to let him reach that breaking point.&#8221;</p>
<p data-start="64" data-end="408" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node=""><em>Watch the entire media day scrum with Belal Muhammad above. He faces Ian Garry at UFC Qatar on Saturday night.</em></p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/20/former-champion-belal-muhammad-eyes-statement-win-against-ian-garry/" data-wpel-link="internal">Former Champion Belal Muhammad Eyes Statement Win Against Ian Garry</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>Ian Machado Garry Wants to Make It &#8220;Undoubtable, Unquestionable, Undeniable&#8221; That He&#8217;s the Best in the World</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/20/ian-machado-garry-wants-to-make-it-undoubtable-unquestionable-undeniable-that-hes-the-best-in-the-world/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Anderson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:12:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC Fight Night 265]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=217949</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>After a big night of welterweight fights including a title changing hands last week at UFC 322, Ian Machado Garry has the distinction of going last— with the chance to make a lasting impression and stake his claim to a title shot. With Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, and the injured Shavkat Rakhmonov (who Garry admits [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/20/ian-machado-garry-wants-to-make-it-undoubtable-unquestionable-undeniable-that-hes-the-best-in-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Ian Machado Garry Wants to Make It &#8220;Undoubtable, Unquestionable, Undeniable&#8221; That He&#8217;s the Best in the World</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After a big night of welterweight fights including a title changing hands last week at UFC 322, Ian Machado Garry has the distinction of going last— with the chance to make a lasting impression and stake his claim to a title shot.</p>
<p>With Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, and the injured Shavkat Rakhmonov (who Garry admits is deserving of number one contender status, but who he does not believe will return to action soon) all vying for a shot against new champ Islam Makhachev, Garry may be the benefactor of timing more than anything. Though that is not exactly how he sees it.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s the advantage of me being last, I think it&#8217;s me being the best, and the most interesting,&#8221; Garry (16-1) said during the UFC Qatar media day on Wednesday. &#8220;I think the guys did a great job last week, and they did what they needed to do. However I believe I am the deciding factor in what happens in the rest of the division.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Islam winning the belt means he is that he is the champion of the world. We need a number one contender. When you beat number one and you knock out number one in the fashion that I believe I&#8217;m going to do it in, there&#8217;s nothing else. I&#8217;m next.&#8221;</p>
<p>Belal Muhammad is that number one contender, the former champ who lost to Jack Della Maddalena back in May. IMG (let&#8217;s do the three initial thing here), however, did take issue with another former champ being in play. The newly crowned Makhachev has called for a fight with Kamaru Usman, who picked up his first victory since 2021 earlier this year.</p>
<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s calling out Kamaru Usman— that&#8217;s a has been. Someone who used to be, not is right now,&#8221; claimed Garry. &#8220;When you&#8217;ve got the likes of me, Morales, Prates, all of us contending to be the next best thing in this division, there&#8217;s no question. When I knock out Belal this weekend, I&#8217;m the number one contender. And the right thing to do, is [for] Islam, is to defend the belt against me.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s not the name Belal Muhammad that is driving Garry either, he clarified. &#8220;I don&#8217;t necessarily care for Belal, I care that he&#8217;s number one. He&#8217;s number one in the world, so when I knock out number one, I become number one and there&#8217;s no one else above number one except Islam Makhachev, the champion.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s my goal. My entire goal this weekend is to go out there and leave it undoubtable, unquestionable, undeniable that Ian Machado Garry is the best welterweight walking the planet right now, and Islam Makhachev better back it up and challenge me for that belt.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>Watch the full UFC Qatar media day appearance by Ian Machado Garry above.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/11/20/ian-machado-garry-wants-to-make-it-undoubtable-unquestionable-undeniable-that-hes-the-best-in-the-world/" data-wpel-link="internal">Ian Machado Garry Wants to Make It &#8220;Undoubtable, Unquestionable, Undeniable&#8221; That He&#8217;s the Best in the World</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>UFC Qatar Gets Tsarukyan vs. Hooker, Garry vs. Muhammad</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/10/01/ufc-qatar-gets-tsarukyan-vs-hooker-garry-vs-muhammad/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Anderson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2025 22:36:10 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Arman Tsarukyan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belal Muhammad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Dan Hooker]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC Fight Night 265]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=215190</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>A couple of big fights in the lightweight and welterweight divisions have landed on the upcoming UFC Qatar card. The UFC makes its debut in Qatar care of a Fight Night event scheduled for the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena on November 22, 2025. On Wednesday, UFC President and CEO Dana White announced some big [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/10/01/ufc-qatar-gets-tsarukyan-vs-hooker-garry-vs-muhammad/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC Qatar Gets Tsarukyan vs. Hooker, Garry vs. Muhammad</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A couple of big fights in the lightweight and welterweight divisions have landed on the upcoming UFC Qatar card.</p>
<p>The UFC makes its debut in Qatar care of a Fight Night event scheduled for the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena on November 22, 2025. On Wednesday, UFC President and CEO Dana White announced some big fights for the show, including the headliner: that will see lightweight contenders Arman Tsarukyan (22-3) and Dan Hooker (24-12) face off.</p>
<p>Tsarukyan was expected to fight Islam Makhachev for 155lb gold earlier this year, only to pull out last minute due to a back injury, much to the annoyance of the UFC. That seems to have dropped the Armenian down a spot or two, with Paddy Pimblett or Justin Gaethje looking more likely to be Ilia Topuria&#8217;s first title defense.</p>
<p>Having last competed in April of 2025, Tsarukyan has won four straight, including victories over Charles Oliveira and Beneil Dariush. He did serve as a back-up fighter for UFC 317 in July, but was not needed.</p>
<p>Hooker has also been out for over a year, last having fought (and won) against Matuesz Gamrot in August of 2024 at UFC 305. &#8220;The Hangman&#8221; has won his last three bouts.</p>
<p>As for the welterweight showdown announced on Wednesday for UFC Qatar, that will see ex-champ Belal Muhmmad (24-4, 1NC) looking to bounce back from the loss of his title to Jack Della Maddalena. He&#8217;ll be taking on Irish star Ian Machado Garry (16-1), whose only loss to date has come against Shavkat Rakhmonov.</p>
<p>Garry got back in the win column earlier this year with a victory over Carlos Prates. He then served as a back-up fighter for Muhammad vs. JDM.</p>
<p>UFC Qatar currently features the following reported match-ups:</p>
<ul>
<li>Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dan Hooker</li>
<li>Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry</li>
<li>Alex Perez vs. Asu Almabayev</li>
<li>Jan Błachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov</li>
<li>Abdul Rakhman Yakhyaev vs. Rafael Cerqueira</li>
<li>Bekzat Almakhan vs. Aleksandre Topuria</li>
<li>Felipe Lima vs. Daniel Marcos</li>
<li>Serghei Spivac vs. Shamil Gaziev</li>
<li>Marek Bujło vs. Denzel Freeman</li>
<li>Ismail Naurdiev vs. Ryan Loder</li>
<li>Jack Hermansson vs. Myktybek Orolbai</li>
</ul>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/10/01/ufc-qatar-gets-tsarukyan-vs-hooker-garry-vs-muhammad/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC Qatar Gets Tsarukyan vs. Hooker, Garry vs. Muhammad</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>UFC 315: Ian Machado Garry Wanted to Hire Pizza Truck for JDM Prank</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/05/07/ufc-315-ian-machado-garry-pizza/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Jay Anderson]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 May 2025 01:33:02 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC 315]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=207548</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Montreal — He&#8217;s only in town as the back-up fighter, meaning he&#8217;s not likely to fight this weekend (unless of course something goes sideways with the UFC 315 main event between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena), but Ian Machado Garry has nevertheless let his presence be felt. There&#8217;s been encounters with the two aforementioned [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/05/07/ufc-315-ian-machado-garry-pizza/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC 315: Ian Machado Garry Wanted to Hire Pizza Truck for JDM Prank</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Montreal — He&#8217;s only in town as the back-up fighter, meaning he&#8217;s not likely to fight this weekend (unless of course something goes sideways with the UFC 315 main event between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena), but Ian Machado Garry has nevertheless let his presence be felt.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s been encounters with the two aforementioned headliners, interviews, a bag of peanut M&amp;Ms gifted to Maddalena (Garry&#8217;s way of saying &#8216;hey, bro, how bout you miss weight so I can step in?&#8217;). And a media day appearance on Wednesday, where Ireland&#8217;s Garry outlined the difference between himself and other welterweight hopefuls.</p>
<p>&#8220;I would say I&#8217;m actually fighting, I&#8217;m being active, I&#8217;m fighting the best guys in the world. I&#8217;m fighting the guys that people see as the most dangerous,&#8221; Garry (16-1) suggested, with media outlets including Cageside Press on hand for one of the more entertaining sessions of the day. &#8220;My last two fights, I&#8217;ve ended a 28-fight finish streak. And I&#8217;m that close to winning both of them.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;So I&#8217;m fighting the most dangerous guys in the world, I&#8217;m being active, I&#8217;m afraid of no man on this planet, and I&#8217;m an absolute competitor. That&#8217;s all my body wants to do. My brain wants to fight the best, beat the best and become the best.&#8221;</p>
<p>Coming off a short-notice victory over Carlos Prates that earned him the backup slot this Saturday in Montreal, Garry also believes that for champ Belal Muhammad, who the Irish star credited as being a good human &#8220;with his mind switched on,&#8221; &#8220;it would be a smart move to want to fight me next. Because I&#8217;m going to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to selling the card, I&#8217;ll do all the heavy lifting when it comes to putting on a show. I&#8217;ll do all the noise, all he has to do is show up so I can win the belt.&#8221;</p>
<p>Of course, it helps that Muhammad appears to be on the same page as Garry, suggesting earlier in the day that he was doing all the right things to make himself be heard. Case in point, the M&amp;Ms gag. Though it originally wasn&#8217;t going to be M&amp;Ms. Garry in fact had something much larger planned.</p>
<p>&#8220;You want to know the truth of what we wanted to do? We wanted to hire a pizza truck and put it outside the hotel, and I wanted to say &#8216;free pizzas for anyone named Jack Della Maddalena,'&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/Cagesidepress/status/1920210105683095773" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">recalled Garry</a>, &#8220;but we had to have like a license to sell stuff. We tried to do it, and I just thought &#8216;god that would be so f*cking funny if we could pull off something like that.&#8217; Just create good content, wind people up, be interesting.&#8221;</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ian Machado Garry had planned to rent a&#8230;pizza truck? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UFC315?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">#UFC315</a> </p>
<p>🎥🎙️: <a href="https://twitter.com/CageSideJay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">@CageSideJay</a> <a href="https://t.co/uYbEozFmAH" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">pic.twitter.com/uYbEozFmAH</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cagesidepress/status/1920210105683095773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">May 7, 2025</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>That seems to be the difference between Garry and other fighters under the UFC banner. Personality. Creativity. The ability to get people talking. It&#8217;s a rarity these days, in a post-Brock, post-Ronda,<a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/03/28/conor-mcgregor-fight-alcatraz-irish-presidential-bid/" data-wpel-link="internal"> post-Conor</a> (and perhaps even post-Jones) UFC.</p>
<p>&#8220;The UFC has no lack of good fighters. You can look at any fighter on any roster, they&#8217;re all good fighters, they&#8217;re all the best in the world, that&#8217;s why they&#8217;re in the UFC. And they&#8217;re all striving to be the best,&#8221; noted Garry. &#8220;But personalities, people that are interesting. When you talk about stardom and superstars and genuine interest that is outside of the UFC bubble, that&#8217;s what people are finding hard to break through. It&#8217;s things like energy and aura and having a laugh and all that, that I find people just don&#8217;t get. We&#8217;re trying to just have a lot of fun on this journey, because the journey&#8217;s the most important part. And I never want to sit there and go &#8216;well I missed out on so many opportunities to have a laugh and wind people up.'&#8221;</p>
<p>And so Garry will always let his inner 16-year old out when he can, as he has this week, &#8220;because it&#8217;s security&#8217;s job to stop me, and it&#8217;s other people&#8217;s job to kind of rein me back. I think it&#8217;s only going to get worse, to be honest.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>Watch Ian Machado Garry&#8217;s full UFC 315 media day appearance above.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/05/07/ufc-315-ian-machado-garry-pizza/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC 315: Ian Machado Garry Wanted to Hire Pizza Truck for JDM Prank</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>What&#8217;s Next: UFC Kansas City Winners</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/28/whats-next-ufc-kansas-city-winners-2/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Mathis Desjardins]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:00:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Abus Magomedov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[david onama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ikram Aliskerov]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Randy Brown]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC on ESPN 66]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zhang Mingyang]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=206990</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>After taking a week off following UFC 314, the MMA leader was back for the first of back-to-back Fight Night cards on the road. First stop was UFC Kansas City with a quality headliner between two welterweight prospects. Ian Machado Garry bounced back after his first career loss last December as he defeated the streaking [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/28/whats-next-ufc-kansas-city-winners-2/" data-wpel-link="internal">What&#8217;s Next: UFC Kansas City Winners</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>After taking a week off following UFC 314, the MMA leader was back for the first of back-to-back Fight Night cards on the road. First stop was UFC Kansas City with a quality headliner between two welterweight prospects. Ian Machado Garry bounced back after his first career loss last December as he defeated the streaking Fighting Nerd, Carlos Prates. We also saw Anthony Smith retire and three new fighters enter the rankings in Zhang Mingyang, David Onama and Abus Magomedov. Let’s look at what should be next for those who were victorious in Missouri.</p>
<h2>Ian Machado Garry</h2>
<p>Machado Garry had to survive late in the final round in the UFC Kansas City headliner, but ultimately earned a unanimous decision victory. After this victory, Dana White<a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/27/dana-white-confirms-ian-machado-garry-ufc-315-backup/" data-wpel-link="internal"> announced that Garry would be the backup fighter for the welterweight title fight going down in Montreal</a> in just three weeks. While this is not inconsequential, three weeks is a quick turnaround for someone who just went 25 minutes and found himself in trouble in the late stages of the bout. Assuming no one pulls out at UFC 315, we should be trying to book Garry for a fight in the second half of the year.</p>
<p>I originally had Sean Brady face Joaquin Buckley in a previous iteration of “What’s Next”, but with “New Mansa” getting booked against Kamaru Usman in June, this leaves the door open for Brady to fight the Irishman. With both Shavkat Rakhmonov and potentially even Islam Makhachev in play, neither Brady nor Garry can confidently claim the next shot at the title, which is why a fight between the two makes so much sense.</p>
<p><em>Machado Garry’s next fight: Sean Brady</em></p>
<h2>Zhang Mingyang</h2>
<p>The “Mountain Tiger” kept his perfect 100% 1<sup>st</sup>-round finish rate alive as he TKO’d the retiring Anthony Smith in just 4 minutes and 3 seconds. Though the outcome may have been a hard watch for some, we cannot say it was that surprising considering the miles that Smith has accrued over the years.</p>
<p>This win will welcome Zhang to the rankings, taking Smith’s #15 spot. Fights against Bogdan Guskov, Volkan Oezdemir, the Menifield/Sy winner or the Walker/Murzakanov loser are all on the table, but I went with Nikita Krylov. The veteran Krylov has enough experience to test the 26-year-old Zhang, but is also vulnerable enough to be a winnable for the Chinese fighter.</p>
<p><em>Zhang’s next fight: Nikita Krylov</em></p>
<h2>David Onama</h2>
<p>The 30-year-old Onama got the biggest scalp of his career and pushed his win streak to four with a unanimous decision victory over Giga Chikadze. Though this was a nice, professional win for Onama, it wasn’t exactly the type of statement that will launch him inside the top10. For that reason, I anticipate the <a href="http://ufc.com" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">UFC</a> to give someone ranked below him. There are plenty of featherweights who have a case for a fight against someone like Onama. You cannot go wrong with any of Chepe Mariscal, Steve Garcia, Hyder Amil, Nathaniel Wood or Doo Ho Choi. In the end, I picked Dan Ige who himself will probably be asked to test another prospect after beating Sean Woodson two weeks ago.</p>
<p><em>Onama’s next fight: Dan Ige</em></p>
<h2>Abus Magomedov</h2>
<p>It once again wasn’t pretty, but Abus Magomedov did get his hand raised for the third consecutive time. And with Michel Pereira ranked at #14 before this fight, Magomedov will now be a ranked middleweight come Tuesday. Not unlike Onama, this wasn’t the statement win that will have the UFC eager to push Magomedov further up the ladder. Instead, he will likely be tasked to immediately defend his ranking against an unranked opponent. Looking at his situation with this lens, the winner of Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Pyfer became an easy choice for me.</p>
<p><em>Magomedov’s next fight: Gastelum/Pyfer winner</em></p>
<h2>Randy Brown</h2>
<p>With his Fight of the Night win at UFC Kansas City, “Rudeboy” keeps being one of the most underrated fighters in the division as he now moves to 10-3 in his last 13 fights. Those three losses came to a prime Vicente Luque, Jack Della Maddalena and a split decision loss to a Bryan Battle who had missed weight.</p>
<p>There are so many fitting names for Brown in that tier of fighters just outside the rankings. Both Oban Elliott and Mike Malott would be fine options should they be victorious in their next fights, Chidi Njokuani and Punahele Soriarno have been perfect since coming down from middleweight, Gabriel Bonfim, Sam Patterson and Rinat Fakhretdinov would also be viable names. I ended up choosing Fakhretdinov’s last opponent, Carlos Leal. Most people seem to think Leal beat Fakhretdinov in October and he followed that up by making it look easy against Alex Morono in March. A win for either man would inch them one step closer to a ranked opponent.</p>
<p><em>Brown’s next fight: Carlos Leal</em></p>
<h2>Ikram Aliskerov</h2>
<p>The multiple time sambo world champion reminded fans why he came into the UFC with the reputation he had as he made quick work of Andre Muniz to open the UFC Kansas City main card. That short notice loss to <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2024/10/27/robert-whittaker-in-good-spirits-following-damage-to-teeth-jaw/" data-wpel-link="internal">Robert Whittaker</a> last June killed off a lot of Aliskerov’s hype, but this first-round KO victory over a former top 15 name should put him back on the map.</p>
<p>I could see the promotion try to push him up the ranks quickly as the 32-year-old is clearly better than his lack of ranking would suggest. Their high expectations for him were evident when they tried to book him against Paulo Costa in 2023 who was nearly ranked inside the top5 at the time. However, I would instead try to turn him around fairly quickly and have him fight another known, but lower-ranked name. Jack Hermansson has been MIA even since he upset Joe Pyfer in February of 2024, but he was ranked and only lost his ranking spot due to inactivity. Assuming he’s ready to come back, why not have him test Aliskerov sometime around June or July?</p>
<p><em>Aliskerov’s next fight: Jack Hermansson</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/28/whats-next-ufc-kansas-city-winners-2/" data-wpel-link="internal">What&#8217;s Next: UFC Kansas City Winners</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates Weigh-In Results</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/25/ufc-kansas-city-machado-garry-vs-prates-weigh-in-results/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Apr 2025 10:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Anthony Smith]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carlos Prates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC on ESPN 66]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=206807</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>The UFC returns to Kansas City, Missouri this Saturday with UFC Kansas City headlined by welterweights Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates. Prates comes from the Fighting Nerds, one of the hottest fight camps in recent years, while Ireland&#8217;s Machado Garry has long been working his way up the 170lb division. While coming off a [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/25/ufc-kansas-city-machado-garry-vs-prates-weigh-in-results/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates Weigh-In Results</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The UFC returns to Kansas City, Missouri this Saturday with UFC Kansas City headlined by welterweights Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates.</p>
<p>Prates comes from the Fighting Nerds, one of the hottest fight camps in recent years, while Ireland&#8217;s Machado Garry has long been working his way up the 170lb division. While coming off a setback against <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2024/12/08/shavkat-rakhmonov-gives-insight-into-heated-ufc-310-weigh-in/" data-wpel-link="internal">Shavkat Rakhmonov</a>, Garry should get some credit for taking that match-up on short notice after Belal Muhammad dropped out of UFC 310.</p>
<p>Also set for this Saturday&#8217;s UFC Kansas City card is the retirement fight of longtime UFC vet Anthony &#8220;Lionheart&#8221; Smith. Having gone all the way to a fight with Jon Jones for the<a href="http://ufc.com" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer"> UFC</a>&#8216;s light heavyweight title, Smith was wrapping up his career against China&#8217;s Zhang Mingyang.</p>
<p><em>Weigh-ins for UFC Kansas City take place Friday; full results can be found below.</em></p>
<h3>UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates Weigh-In Results</h3>
<p><strong>Main card</strong></p>
<p><em>Welterweight</em>: Ian Machado Garry (171) vs. Carlos Prates (170)<br />
<em>Light Heavyweight</em>: Anthony Smith (206) vs. Zhang Mingyang (206)<br />
<em>Featherweight</em>: Giga Chikadze (147)* vs. David Onama (146)<br />
<em>Middleweight</em>: Michel Pereira (186) vs. Abusupiyan Magomedov (185.5)<br />
<em>Welterweight</em>: Randy Brown (171) vs. Nicolas Dalby (171)<br />
<em>Middleweight</em>: Ikram Aliskerov (185.5) vs. André Muniz (185.5)</p>
<p><strong>Preliminary card </strong></p>
<p><em>Flyweight</em>: Matt Schnell (126) vs. Jimmy Flick (126)<br />
<em>Lightweight</em>: Evan Elder (156) vs. Gauge Young (156)<br />
<em>Featherweight</em>: Chris Gutiérrez (146) vs. John Castañeda (146)<br />
<em>Bantamweight</em>: Da&#8217;Mon Blackshear (135.5) vs. Alateng Heili (136)<br />
<em>Bantamweight</em>: Malcolm Wellmaker (135) vs. Cameron Saaiman (135)<br />
<em>Women&#8217;s Strawweight</em>: Jaqueline Amorim (116) vs. Polyana Viana (115.5)<br />
<em>Featherweight</em>: Timothy Cuamba (146) vs. Roberto Romero (145)<br />
<em>Women&#8217;s Bantamweight</em>: Chelsea Chandler (134) vs. Joselyne Edwards (136)</p>
<p>*Missed Weight</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/25/ufc-kansas-city-machado-garry-vs-prates-weigh-in-results/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC Kansas City: Machado Garry vs. Prates Weigh-In Results</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>Carlos Prates Believes Fighting Nerds Can Have Four Simultaneous Champs</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/carlos-prates-believes-fighting-nerds-can-have-four-simultaneous-champs/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Eddie Law]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 18:01:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MMA News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Video]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Carlos Prates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC Kansas City]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=206769</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>UFC welterweight Carlos Prates could add himself to the list of legitimate title contenders with a win over Ian Garry at UFC Kansas City, but he and his team are aiming much higher in the next couple of years. The Fighting Nerds have taken the UFC by storm with three ranked fighters hoping for title [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/carlos-prates-believes-fighting-nerds-can-have-four-simultaneous-champs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Carlos Prates Believes Fighting Nerds Can Have Four Simultaneous Champs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>UFC welterweight Carlos Prates could add himself to the list of legitimate title contenders with a win over <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/ufc-kansas-city-ian-machado-garry-says-hes-levels-and-levels-above-carlos-prates/" data-wpel-link="internal">Ian Garry</a> at UFC Kansas City, but he and his team are aiming much higher in the next couple of years.</p>
<p>The Fighting Nerds have taken the UFC by storm with three ranked fighters hoping for title shots soon, and one just outside of the rankings. There is almost a race as to who becomes the first Fighting Nerds champion.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think Caio (Borralho) gonna be the first one,&#8221; Prates told reporters on Wednesday.</p>
<p>&#8220;Depends the next weeks. If he&#8217;s gonna fight or not, but if I should be money on who gonna be champ first? I think I&#8217;m gonna bet my money on Caio.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/36554-carlos-prates-carlao" data-wpel-link="external" target="_blank" rel="external noopener noreferrer">Prates</a> (21-6) has scored 4 straight victories, 5 if you include his DWCS win, all finishes coming into UFC Kansas City. The 13th ranked welterweight takes on the #7 ranked 170er in the main event this Saturday night.</p>
<p>A win for him, specially one with a spectacular finish, could be what fires him into the top 5 and right into title contention. He&#8217;s not the only one who has a real opportunity to earn a title shot real soon. Could all 4 of the top fighters with the Fighting Nerds become champions at the same time?</p>
<p><iframe title="Carlos Prates thinks four of the Fighting Nerds can be champions at the same time #UFCKansasCity" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Oxi0DxlSjF8" width="428" height="761" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>&#8220;I think so. We four, all the guys, can become champ like just one more fight and then we can fight for the belt. Caio can fight for the belt any moment. I think for me I think (it) depends the way I beat Ian Garry the next fight can be for the belt also,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;(Mauricio) Ruffy just one more fight. I don&#8217;t know, maybe he fight Justin Gaethje, or somebody like that. Really good performance also he can go to the belt. And also Jean (Silva). Just one fight and then can go, but it&#8217;s really possible.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>Watch the entire media day scrum with Carlos Prates above. He takes on Ian Garry in the main event of UFC Kansas City on Saturday night.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/carlos-prates-believes-fighting-nerds-can-have-four-simultaneous-champs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Carlos Prates Believes Fighting Nerds Can Have Four Simultaneous Champs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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		<title>UFC Kansas City: Ian Machado Garry Says He&#8217;s &#8220;Levels and Levels&#8221; Above Carlos Prates</title>
		<link>https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/ufc-kansas-city-ian-machado-garry-says-hes-levels-and-levels-above-carlos-prates/</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Staff]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 24 Apr 2025 05:05:41 +0000</pubDate>
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		<category><![CDATA[Ian Garry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UFC on ESPN 66]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://cagesidepress.com/?p=206756</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Headlining UFC Kansas City this Saturday, Ian Machado Garry if nothing else has proven game to take on anyone. Coming in off a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov, which he accepted on short notice after already being booked against Joaquin Buckley last year, Garry doesn&#8217;t seem to have &#8220;no&#8221; in his vocabulary. &#8220;That just speaks to [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/ufc-kansas-city-ian-machado-garry-says-hes-levels-and-levels-above-carlos-prates/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC Kansas City: Ian Machado Garry Says He&#8217;s &#8220;Levels and Levels&#8221; Above Carlos Prates</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Headlining UFC Kansas City this Saturday, Ian Machado Garry if nothing else has proven game to take on anyone.</p>
<p>Coming in off a fight against Shavkat Rakhmonov, which he accepted on short notice after already being booked against <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2024/12/15/joaquin-buckley-short-and-sweet-following-ufc-tampa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Joaquin Buckley</a> last year, Garry doesn&#8217;t seem to have &#8220;no&#8221; in his vocabulary.</p>
<p>&#8220;That just speaks to the character of the person I am. I&#8217;m born and bred in Dublin, Ireland. We&#8217;re called the Fighting Irish for a reason,&#8221; Garry (15-1) said during Wednesday&#8217;s UFC Kansas City media day, asked about his willingness to take on all comers. &#8220;And I&#8217;m just out here putting that on display for the world to see.&#8221;</p>
<p>When the call comes to offer a fight, Garry continued, &#8220;there&#8217;s only one answer. It&#8217;s only yes. It doesn&#8217;t matter to me if it&#8217;s two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, eight weeks. It&#8217;s yes, and I&#8217;ll do everything I can to make it possible and make that happen. I love to fight, there&#8217;s nothing more I love in this world than fighting, and I&#8217;m living my dream right now fighting the best guys in the world.&#8221;</p>
<p>That&#8217;s a mindset Garry says he&#8217;ll maintain when he becomes champion. &#8220;It doesn&#8217;t matter who, it doesn&#8217;t matter when, I want to prove I&#8217;m the best against everyone. And I think Carlos is up there.&#8221;</p>
<p>While Garry had some praise for UFC Kansas City opponent Carlos Prates, member of the red-hot Fighting Nerds, the Irish star doesn&#8217;t see him as quick as Michael &#8220;Venom&#8221; Page, or having the well-roundedness of Shavkat Rakhmonov. &#8220;For me this is a guy who, I can go out there and put on full display that I am just levels and levels above him, and I&#8217;m excited to do it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ahead of Saturday&#8217;s welterweight main event, the two have traded barbs on social media. In particular, Garry accused the Brazilian of quitting in a fight— and he hopes to see that again inside the octagon in Kansas City.</p>
<p>&#8220;When the going gets tough, he quits. And on Saturday night, I&#8217;m going to put him in that position where he has to make a choice, and I want him to quit.&#8221;</p>
<p><em>Watch Ian Machado Garry&#8217;s full UFC Kansas City media day appearance above.</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://cagesidepress.com/2025/04/24/ufc-kansas-city-ian-machado-garry-says-hes-levels-and-levels-above-carlos-prates/" data-wpel-link="internal">UFC Kansas City: Ian Machado Garry Says He&#8217;s &#8220;Levels and Levels&#8221; Above Carlos Prates</a> appeared first on <a href="https://cagesidepress.com" data-wpel-link="internal">Cageside Press</a>.</p>
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