Ian Machado Garry is willing to do whatever it takes to land a first shot at UFC gold.
The Irish contender has long branded his crowning as champion inevitable, ever since continuing the undefeated start to his MMA career inside the Octagon.
Although Shavkat Rakhmonov briefly stalled his progress by beating him last December, Machado Garry defeated the surging Carlos Prates in April and immediately bounced back.
And ‘The Future’ wasted little time inserting his name into the championship conversation. He weighed in as the backup fighter for the UFC 315 main event, which saw Jack Della Maddalena beat Belal Muhammad to win the 170-pound belt.
Ian Machado Garry is open to backup role again post-UFC 315
Serving as backup has long been a debated role in the UFC, with some fighters expressing a complete lack of interest.
Machado Garry, though, would happily do it again.
The Irishman explained during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show why being backup for a second time would be a no-brainer — under the right circumstances.
“Oh, I think I’d do it again for sure,” Machado Garry said. “Mentally preparing for a fight is something that I enjoy. Being given the opportunity to go in and fight, I enjoy even more.
“It would obviously have to make sense for me in regards to getting ready, preparing for a fight, and then having something – whether it be I have a fight after that or I have a fight before that.
“I would want to be preparing for something that’s locked in and make sure I’m mentally getting in there and going, ‘Right, I’m getting something at the end of this.’
“The Prates example was perfect. I fight Prates, two weeks later, three weeks later, a month later, ready to weigh in again in case I’m needed. I would do that again in a heartbeat.”
Robert Whittaker once branded UFC backup role ‘a little silly’
During a media scrum to promote The Ultimate Fighter 28 in 2018, middleweight star Robert Whittaker notably gave an honest take on the concept of backup fighters.
Despite instances such as Arman Tsarukyan’s injury a couple of days before UFC 311, which showed the dangers of injury and illness derailing pay-per-view bouts, ‘The Reaper’ doesn’t think the idea is fully thought out.
“I think the idea behind backup fighters is a little silly or there should be different incentives and things involved in it.
“I think it should be more thought out. I can’t envision a guy getting paid to make weight. That’s not the sport, that’s not the name of the game. I think fights need to be made and deadlines need to be made.
“I think a lot of guys are getting lax, a lot of guys are taking advantage of different loopholes they can exploit.”
Perhaps such remarks contributed to the UFC’s decision not to consider Whittaker for an upcoming replacement position.
Nassourdine Imavov is the backup for UFC 319, which will be headlined by the Dricus du Plessis vs. Khamzat Chimaev middleweight title fight in Chicago on August 19.