Makhachev says Ian Garry isn’t confirmed, calls Carlos Prates the 'most interesting' title contender
- Islam Makhachev said on May 5 that Ian Machado Garry is still not officially booked, and named Carlos Prates the “most interesting” option. - The spark was Prates’ May 2 win in Perth — a third-round TKO of Jack Della Maddalena at 3:17 that vaulted him deeper into title talk. - That matters because welterweight suddenly looks open again, with Garry no longer feeling locked in as Makhachev’s first defense.
The UFC welterweight picture just got a lot less settled. Islam Makhachev basically poured cold water on the idea that Ian Machado Garry is already locked in for the next title shot, then went a step further and said Carlos Prates is the matchup he finds “most interesting.” That matters because people had started treating Garry as the obvious next challenger. Turns out Makhachev is saying the UFC still hasn’t actually told him that. ### What did Makhachev actually say? He was pretty direct. Makhachev said the UFC “haven’t informed” him about a Garry fight yet, and that he hasn’t spoken with officials about it, even with rumors flying around all week. He also listed several possible challengers — Garry, Michael Morales, Kamaru Usman, Carlos Prates, and even Shavkat Rakhmonov as another name in the mix. Then he singled Prates out as the one with the most momentum and the “most interesting” fight right now. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Why were people treating Garry as next? Because the division had been drifting that way in public. Garry had been widely discussed as the frontrunner for Makhachev’s first defense, and some of the chatter even attached a target date and event to it. Carlos Prates himself fed that idea after UFC Perth, talking as if Mak(sports.yahoo.com) and fighter talk — not a formal UFC announcement. (clutchpoints.com) ### Why did Prates suddenly jump the line? Because he looked like a problem in Perth. On May 2, Prates stopped former champ Jack Della Maddalena by third-round TKO in the UFC Fight Night 275 main event at RAC Arena. The finish came at 3:17 of Round 3, and it wasn’t some lucky swing — he broke Del(clutchpoints.com)t moment. (forbes.com) ### Why does “most interesting” matter so much? Because champions don’t always get the final pick, but their preference matters. Especially when the UFC is choosing between several credible contenders with no totally undeniable No. 1. Makhachev didn’t say Prates is definitely next. But he did frame t(forbes.com) the loudest case. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Where do the other contenders fit? Garry is still right there. So are Morales and Usman, at least in Makhachev’s telling. Rakhmonov is the interesting extra name because he’s still viewed as elite, even if he wasn’t presented as the immediate favorite here. Basically, this is not one clear queue. It’s a cluster of viable challengers, and recent performances are shifting the order in real time. (sports.yahoo.com) ### Is this a real reshuffle or just fighter talk? A bit of both — but fighter talk matters when the division is this fluid. No bout agreement has been publicly confirmed for Makhachev’s next defense in the material out now. So when the champion says Garry is not finalized and starts praising Prates as the more compelling (sports.yahoo.com) the debate. (sports.yahoo.com) ### What’s the bottom line? The clean version is this: Ian Machado Garry may still get the shot, but he is not confirmed as of May 5. Carlos Prates forced his way into the center of the story with a violent win in Perth, and Makhachev just gave that push real weight. At welterweight, that’s often how the next title fight starts — not with a poster, but with one result and one quote changing the whole mood. (sports.yahoo.com)
