Ian Garry backs himself to dethrone Islam Makhachev ahead of title fight

Ian Garry has declared himself the most dangerous challenger Islam Makhachev has ever encountered, setting the stage for an upcoming lightweight title fight between the two.

Speaking ahead of the bout, Garry pointed to recent title-fight upsets across the sport as proof that no champion is invincible. He specifically cited the cases of Sean Strickland and Justin Gaethje, both current champions, as examples of the unpredictable nature of championship fights. Garry argued that his all-around skill set opens up more routes to victory than any fighter Makhachev has previously faced.

Makhachev enters the fight as the reigning lightweight champion and the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, carrying a 28-1-0 record at 34 years old. The Russian southpaw, who trains out of Eagles MMA, is one of the sport's most precise fighters, connecting on 58 percent of his significant strikes while also averaging 3.2 takedowns and 1.1 submission attempts per 15 minutes — a combination that has overwhelmed nearly every challenger he has faced.

Garry is not among the verified data provided in full, but the fighters he name-dropped are worth noting as context. Strickland, the 35-year-old American middleweight champion out of Xtreme Couture, holds a 31-7-0 record and leads the sport with 6.04 significant strikes landed per minute. Gaethje, the 37-year-old lightweight champion from Genesis Training Center, owns a 28-5-0 record and an even more prolific output of 6.48 significant strikes per minute at 58 percent accuracy.

Why it matters

• Makhachev's pound-for-pound No. 1 status makes this one of the highest-profile title fights in the sport
• Garry's confidence signals he intends to press a striking-based game plan against a world-class grappler
• A Garry upset would reshuffle both the lightweight and pound-for-pound rankings dramatically