Ian Machado Garry set to return in May against Daniel Rodriguez
Ian Machado Garry is set for the toughest test of his career.
According to ESPN Deportes, and later confirmed by MyMMANews, Garry is booked to return on May 13 at a UFC Fight Night event against Daniel Rodriguez. The location of the card has yet to be announced but the main event sees Anthony Smith take on Johnny Walker at light heavyweight.
Ian Machado Garry (11-0) is a perfect 4-0 in the UFC and coming off a third-round TKO win over Kenan Song at UFC 285 earlier this month. Prior to that, he earned back-to-back decision wins over Gabe Green and Darian Weeks, and in his debut, he scored a KO win over Jordan Williams at UFC 268.
Before signing with the UFC, the Irishman fought in Cage Warriors and was the welterweight champion winning the vacant belt with a decision win over Jack Grant. He also holds a notable win over Rostem Akman in Cage Warriors but this fight against Rodriguez will be the toughest test of his career.
Daniel Rodriguez (17-3) hasn’t fought since November when he suffered a third-round submission loss to Neil Magny. He was supposed to return at UFC 286 last weekend against Gunnar Nelson but suffered an injury that forced him out of the scrap. Before the setback to Magny, Rodriguez was on a four-fight winning streak with wins over Jingliang Li by split decision, Kevin Lee by decision, Preston Parsons by TKO and a decision win over Mike Perry.
Rodriguez is currently 7-2 in the UFC with his other loss being a controversial decision loss to Nicolas Dalby. His other three wins came over Dwight Grant by first-round TKO, a decision win over Green, and a submission win over Tim Means.
With the addition of Garry vs. Rodriguez, the May 13 Fight Night card is as follows:
- Anthony Smith vs. Johnny Walker
- Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Jailton Almeida
- Matt Brown vs. Court McGee
- Daniel Rodriguez vs. Ian Machado Garry
- Mackenzie Dern vs. Angela Hill
- Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Tainara Lisboa
- Cody Stamann vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade
- Ji Yeon Kim vs. Mandy Bohm