""I don't think it's the advantage of me being last, I think it's me being the best, and the most interesting,""
""I think the guys did a great job last week, and they did what they needed to do. However I believe I am the deciding factor in what happens in the rest of the division.""
""Islam winning the belt means he is that he is the champion of the world. We need a number one contender. When you beat number one and you knock out number one in the fashion that I believe I'm going to do it in, there's nothing else. I'm next.""
""When you've got the likes of me, Morales, Prates, all of us contending to be the next best thing in this division, there's no question. When I knock out Belal this weekend, I'm the number one contender. And the right thing to do, is [for] Islam, is to defend the belt against me.""
Following UFC 322 and Islam Makhachev's title win, contenders include Belal Muhammad, Michael Morales, Carlos Prates, and injured Shavkat Rakhmonov. Ian Machado Garry positions himself as the division's most compelling and deserving contender, rejecting the idea his late-card placement is merely fortuitous. Garry prioritizes a knockout victory over Belal Muhammad to secure the number-one contender status and a title shot. Garry dismisses Kamaru Usman as a former champion no longer at his peak and urges Makhachev to defend the belt against an ascendant contender. Timing, performance, and decisive finishes are framed as determinants of title opportunities.
Read at Cageside Press
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