Makhachev targets August return with Ian Garry as welterweight title frontrunner

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev has confirmed he will enter fight camp immediately and is targeting an August return, with Ian Garry emerging as the frontrunner for the next title shot. Makhachev made the comments after attending PSG’s Champions League victory over Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary.

“Right after here I’m going to camp,” Makhachev told UFC on TNT Sports. “[Return likely in] August. I will be ready. Lot of contenders but No. 1 is Ian Garry. We still have couple of more [contenders] who want to take the belt but I don’t give no one.”

The UFC has yet to officially announce the fight, but Makhachev’s words appear to corroborate recent claims from Carlos Prates, who said Garry would face Makhachev in August. Garry (17-1) is not without competition for the slot — both Prates and Michael Morales remain in contention — but the Irishman currently holds the clearest path to a title shot.

Garry’s lone professional defeat came against Shavkat Rakhmonov, who is currently sidelined with an injury. Since that loss, Garry has bounced back with victories over Prates and former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, building a case that has evidently caught Makhachev’s attention.

Makhachev’s move to welterweight came after a dominant run at lightweight, where he made four title defences — the most in the division’s history. He stepped up in November at UFC 322 and defeated Jack Della Maddalena convincingly to claim the welterweight belt, becoming a two-division champion. Now holding titles at 155 and 170 pounds, the Dagestani fighter shows no intention of relinquishing either.

Should the Makhachev-Garry fight be formalised for August, it would be one of the most anticipated welterweight title bouts in recent memory, pitting the division’s dominant new champion against its most in-form contender.