{"id":39841,"date":"2026-08-11T05:34:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherdog.com\/news\/news\/Ian-Garry-believes-he-has-faced-tougher-opponents-than-Islam-Makhachev-has-202310"},"modified":"2026-08-11T05:34:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T05:34:48","slug":"ian-garry-believes-he-has-faced-tougher-opponents-than-islam-makhachev-has","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.martialartskleinanzeigen.com\/videos\/ian-garry-believes-he-has-faced-tougher-opponents-than-islam-makhachev-has\/","title":{"rendered":"Ian Garry believes he has faced tougher opponents than Islam Makhachev has"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/div>\n

Ian
\nGarry<\/a> claims he has faced significantly steeper competition
\nthan Islam
\nMakhachev<\/a> has.<\/p>\n

Garry (17-1) is scheduled to challenge Makhachev (28-1) for the
\n
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a> welterweight title at UFC
\n330<\/a> on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The
\nIrish challenger recently compared their strength of schedule,
\nclaiming that his recent run of form surpasses the Russian\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ian Garry highlights size and skill difference between his
\nrecent opponents and Islam Makhachev\u2019s<\/h2>\n

Garry has faced Belal
\nMuhammad<\/a>, Carlos
\nPrates<\/a>, Shavkat
\nRakhmonov<\/a>, Michael
\nPage<\/a> and Geoff Neal<\/a> in
\nhis last five outings, only losing to Rakhmonov. Meanwhile,
\nMakhachev has defended his lightweight title against Volkanovski
\ntwice, Dustin
\nPoirier<\/a>, and Renato
\nCarneiro<\/a>, and dethroned Jack
\nDella Maddalena<\/a> to win the welterweight title in his last five
\nbouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Future\u201d believes Muhammad, Prates, Rakhmonov and Page are
\namong the trickiest fighters in the world. While he respects
\nVolkanovski and Poirier as legends, he doesn\u2019t think they match up
\nto the level of opponents he\u2019s faced. Garry, who\u2019s a massive
\nunderdog going into UFC 330, also notes that all of his recent
\nopponents were bigger and taller than Makhachev\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at my last five opponents versus Islam\u2019s last five
\nopponents, in my opinion, it\u2019s not a discussion about whose are
\nmore difficult,\u201d Garry told ESPN MMA. \u201cWhen you look at who I
\nfought — Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Carlos Prates, MVP.
\nThose four are some of the trickiest fighters on the planet. All of
\nthem present real, real danger. When you look at JDM, Renato
\nMoicano, Dustin Poirier and Volkanovski. As much as Volkanovski and
\nDustin Poirier are legends of the sport, they\u2019re not as dangerous
\nas the guys I\u2019ve just mentioned. Not only that, every single one of
\nthem is bigger and longer.\u201d<\/p>\n