Dana White believes Ian Machado Garry (17-2) may have cost himself another title opportunity by easing up late in his UFC 330 challenge against welterweight champion Islam Makhachev (29-1).
Makhachev won the fight by unanimous decision, dropping Garry with a second-round head kick and using his grappling throughout the five-round contest. Two judges scored the fight 49-46, while the third had it 48-47.
White criticized Garry for growing too friendly with Makhachev as the fight wound down and doubled down on the point at the UFC Sacramento post-fight press conference.
“You get this opportunity, you’ve worked your whole life to get there, and you come out in the fifth round after you do all this great work, and you want to come out and start hugging him. Shaking hands. Tell him how f*cking great he is when they’re putting the belt on ya. It’s just he might never have that opportunity again, and probably will never get the opportunity at Islam again, who is gonna go down as one of the all-time greats, if not, the greatest by the time he’s done.”
Garry maintains his title ambitions have not changed, still eyeing what he has called a “decade of dominance,” although his path back to another title opportunity is now uncertain.