Overview
- Garry defeated former champion Belal Muhammad by unanimous decision at UFC Qatar and immediately called for a welterweight title fight with Makhachev.
- Viral backstage footage showed middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev shoving Garry before security separated them, and both fighters offered conflicting accounts of the incident.
- The confrontation did not escalate into a fight, and teams dispersed without punches thrown.
- Chimaev disclosed he will undergo a foot procedure and expects to return after Ramadan in April 2026, taking him out of near-term matchmaking at 170 pounds.
- Makhachev has voiced a preference for Kamaru Usman but said the UFC will choose his first defense within weeks, while Jon Anik and Michael Bisping publicly backed Garry’s claim.