"They weren't willing to do that" - Ian Garry comes clean on turning down Sean Brady for Belal Muhammad fight

Belal Muhammad (left) set as Ian Garry
Belal Muhammad (left) set as Ian Garry's (middle) opponent as Sean Brady (right) talks hits dead end. [Images courtesy: Getty Images]

It appears Ian Garry was originally supposed to square off against Sean Brady in his next fight, but decided to take on Belal Muhammad instead after the UFC refused to meet his terms.

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'The Future' will now face the former welterweight champion in the co-main event of UFC Qatar on Nov. 22. The event will go down at the ABHA Arena in Doha with a lightweight title eliminator between Arman Tsarukyan and Dan Hooker headlining the card.

According to the Irishman, a win against Muhammad would fetch him a crack at the 170-pound gold. In a recent post on his Instagram handle, the 27-year-old came clean on why he chose Muhammad as his opponent:

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"The UFC offered me Sean Brady. I said yes. I said to them, 'Let's make it a No.1 contender fight, let's make it public, because that's what I want.' They weren't willing to do that. So I said, 'No problem. I want to fight Belal, I want to knock him out. There is no other option, my next fight is for a world title.'"
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Check out Ian Garry's comments about choosing to fight Belal Muhammad below:

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Garry is 9-1 in the UFC with notable wins against Neal Magny, Geoff Neal, and Michael Page, among others. His only loss has come against the No.3-ranked Shavkath Rakhmonov at UFC 310 in December. 'The Future' was last seen in a unanimous decision win over Fighting Nerds standout Carlos Prates.


Belal Muhammad sends dire warning to Ian Garry ahead of UFC Qatar

While Ian Garry hopes to earn his maiden title shot with a decisive win over Belal Muhammad, the former champion is also intent on securing a chance at reclaiming the welterweight gold.

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Announcing their Nov.22 clash on social media, 'Remember the Name' sent a dire warning to his opponent, vowing to deliver a brutal beatdown on fight night:

"You are cocky, you are young. You only have one loss, which you are proud of because you didn't get finished, but this is a different animal. You've never been in the cage with anybody like me, never seen anybody like me, and on Nov.22 you're going to be broken, like you've never been broken before... I'm going to beat you up. It's going to be a bad day, bad night... I think it's the No.1 contender fight... Ian Garry, you picked the wrong guy, you picked the wrong date. Nov.22, your future is not bright. See you soon, boy."

Muhammad is 24-4-1 NC in MMA with wins over the likes of Stephen Thompson, Sean Brady, and Leon Edwards. Before his UFC 315 loss to Jack Della Maddalena, the 37-year-old was on an 11-fight unbeaten run.

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Edited by Ujwal Jain
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