Cejudo questions Garry's title future after friendly UFC 330 loss to Makhachev

Henry Cejudo believes Ian Machado Garry’s chances of earning another UFC welterweight title shot are slim, pointing to the Irishman’s puzzling warmth toward champion Islam Makhachev during their main event at UFC 330 on Saturday as evidence of a deeper attitude problem.

Garry fell short in his bid to dethrone Makhachev, and while he had his moments in the fight, he drew widespread criticism for a lack of aggression — at times appearing content to embrace and exchange pleasantries with the champion between exchanges. UFC CEO Dana White publicly questioned Garry’s “killer instinct” post-fight, and Makhachev himself seemed baffled, saying, “This is not a game.”

Cejudo, a former two-division UFC champion and Olympic gold medallist in wrestling, piled on during an episode of his Pound 4 Pound podcast on Monday. “Since the beginning of this whole thing, ‘Islam Makhachev, he’s the greatest of all time. Look at his team. Look at this.’ Like, just glazing these dudes prior to this fight,” Cejudo said. “In between rounds, kissing them, hugging them, first round, second round, third round, fifth round. Like, how would the UFC want him as a champion?”

Cejudo acknowledged his own career was built on a deliberately provocative persona — he coined the nickname “The King of Cringe” — but argued that even his most theatrical antics served a promotional purpose, keeping him in the conversation regardless of how they were received. In his view, Garry’s approach achieves the opposite effect.

“I think he wants to be famous and liked,” Cejudo said. “Even Dana White said, ‘Where’s that killer instinct coming in the fifth?’ An attitude like that, fighting against the pound-for-pound king, it was f*cking annoying.”

Garry has cultivated a polarising public image built largely on respectful banter, but Cejudo argued that persona is incompatible with the ruthlessness required to become a genuine UFC star. “His attitude towards this of trying to be liked or loved by people, it’s f*cking horrendous,” Cejudo added. “He is not your teammate. He has what you want.”

Whether the UFC shares Cejudo’s assessment and moves on from Garry at welterweight remains to be seen, but the dual criticism from both White and Makhachev himself suggests Saturday’s performance left a lasting impression — and not a favourable one.