Ian Garry to Serve as Backup Fighter for UFC 315 Main Event

If anything goes awry with the UFC 315 headliner, Ian Garry will be on hand to step in.

Shortly after he defeated Carlos Prates via unanimous decision in the UFC Kansas City headliner, “The Future” announced his plans to travel to Montreal for the welterweight title fight between Belal Muhammad and Jack Della Maddalena on May 10.

“Twenty-one days’ notice against Shavkat [Rakhmonov]. 25 days’ notice against this man tonight. He’s a beast. Well, in two weeks’ time, I’m flying to Canada,” Garry said during his post-fight interview. “I’m the official backup for the world title fight, and I’m next in line for that world title.”

Shortly after that statement, UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Garry would indeed be the championship alternate for the upcoming 170-pound title clash.

“Credit to Ian, [he] takes these fights on short notice,” White said at the UFC Kansas City post-fight press conference. “He’ll fight anybody. He looked good tonight.”

Garry suffered the first loss of his professional tenure this past December, falling to Rakhmonov via unanimous decision in a title eliminator bout at UFC 310. When Rakhmonov was unable to accept a fight against Muhammad in May, Della Maddalena was tabbed as the next title challenger. Garry didn’t hesitate to voice his displeasure with the promotion’s decision shortly after Muhammad vs. Della Maddalena was announced. Now, it’s possible that the Irish star could get a championship opportunity just two weeks after besting Prates.

UFC 315 takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and also includes a women’s flyweight title tilt pitting Valentina Shevchenko against Manon Fiorot. The main card airs on pay-per-view via ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.