Victorious Machado Garry demands title shot

Belal Muhammad vs. Ian Machado Garry at UFC Qatar in Doha continued his push for the welterweight title.

The Irishman defeated the former champion at the ABHA Arena to earn his 17th career victory.

Machado Garry, 28, declared himself the front-runner to defeat Islam Makhachev, the champion.

“The world champion is the only person who can surpass him.” Islam, you try to put me to sleep because Belal couldn’t. I’ll tell you right away that I am the best person on earth.

You are looking at him and you have a duty to defend that belt against the world’s best welterweight.

I’m removing you from that throne. Sign the contract, and I’ll see you soon because no one is stopping me from having a bright future and my dreams.

American Muhammad, 37, chose to strike first against Machado Garry in the first round but struggled to defeat a man with greater range.

However, Muhammad’s attempts to adapt to his grappling weaknesses were repeatedly thwarted.

Machado Garry resisted Muhammad’s 56 attempts with 72 significant strikes after seven of his seven takedown attempts.

However, Carlos Prates and Michael Morales’ massive knockout victories against top-ranked Leon Edwards and Sean Brady last week may put them ahead of Machado Garry in the pecking order for a title shot after failing to deliver a finish.

A new division champion was crowned after Makhachev’s destruction of Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322 last week.

The 34-year-old Russian is now a two-weight champion and has lost one MMA fight only once, against Adriano Martins, since 2015.

Arman Tsarukyan submitted Dan Hooker in round two to defend his lightweight ranking as champion in the main event.

After being forced to withdraw from his first fight-week opportunity in January due to injury, Armenian Tsarukyan is pursuing a second title shot.

Tsarukyan, 29, drew a 34-year-old Hooker to the ground before submitting him with an arm-triangle submission.

With a second-round victory over Bogdan Grad, Briton Luke Riley had a flawless start to his UFC career.

The 26-year-old featherweight overcame a challenging first round by getting used to Grad’s pace and grappling.

However, Riley fumbled out in the second round and landed a massive left hand to send Grad down while Pimblett was in his corner.

The Austrian attempted to fight off Riley, but the referee halted the match as a result of heavy strikes that rained down.

Riley remarked about a bad first round, saying, “I’m my own worst critic.

“Line them up, I’m removing everything.” I’ll return soon.

After defeats for Jordan Vucenic, Nathan Fletcher, and Harry Hardwick, Pimblett was one of the first to celebrate with Riley, who ended a losing streak for the Cage Warriors and the UFC in 2025.

Riley recorded nine stops and improved to a record of 12-0.