UFC champion Makhachev will have his next fight against Irishman Ian Garry.

Russian UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev will have his next fight against Irishman Ian Harry. The fight will take place on May 30 in Saudi Arabia at the UFC 329 tournament and will be the main event of the evening. This was reported on March 14 by journalist Ruben Carter on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

Makhachev and Harry have signed a contract to fight for the UFC welterweight title. Ian Harry has 21 wins and one loss in mixed martial arts. The Irishman ranks second in the welterweight rankings and has previously claimed a title fight: in November 2025, he defeated former champion Belal Muhammad.

Makhachev, 34, moved up to welterweight after years of dominating the lightweight division, where he became champion by defeating Jack Della Maddalena. The Russian set a record for the number of title defenses in the lightweight category — four successful defenses in a row. To move to the new division, Makhachev had to give up the lightweight championship belt.

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Makhachev was awarded the title of SAMBO Ambassador to the world on February 19. In addition, Makhachev was invited to the 50th anniversary World Sambo Championships in Samarkand as an honorary guest.

On December 27, 2025, the athlete became the best fighter according to the Sports Express edition. It was noted that in the voting, the athlete was ahead of the other strongest UFC legends — Peter Yan and Khamzat Chimaev.

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