Ian
Garry doesn’t believe that Islam
Makhachev is injured.
People were eagerly anticipating a potential matchup between
Makhachev (28-1) and Ilia
Topuria (17-0) at the White House in June. However, it was
announced earlier this month that Topuria will fight interim
lightweight champion Justin
Gaethje in a title unification bout at the
UFC White House on June 14. White later briefly mentioned that
Makhachev has a hand injury, before clarifying that he isn’t
certain about it.
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However, Garry (17-1) doesn’t think Makhachev is injured. Currently
rallying for a welterweight title shot, Garry believes the champion
is making excuses to avoid fighting. Garry doesn’t think Makhachev
could have suffered an injury in his dominant title win over
Jack
Della Maddalena last year. “The Future” jokes that Makhachev
might have injured himself while horse riding, taking a jab at the
Dagestani’s frequent horse riding videos. Garry believes Makhachev
is doing what most fighters do after becoming champions – keep the
title without fighting.
‘I Don’t Know What to Believe’
“I heard [about the hand injury] too. But I don’t believe it,”
Garry said on Instagram. “I don’t know what to believe. I can’t
imagine he hurt his hand in the last fight with Jack — maybe he did
it in horse riding? I don’t believe it. I think it’s just excuses.
Everything about him now tells me he doesn’t want to fight, he
doesn’t want to fight. Mentally, physically, whatever it is… He’s
doing the typical thing that all champions do when they get the
belt. They try to maintain that position and maintain relevancy by
not fighting and staying inactive. When I fight, that all
changes.”
While rumors suggest that Makhachev vs Topuria was originally
planned for the White House, White refutes them. Meanwhile, Garry
and Michael
Morales (19-0) are considered frontrunners for the next
welterweight title shot against Makhachev. The undefeated
Ecuadorian recently claimed to have beaten Garry in the race for
the next gold bid.