Ian Machado Garry claims Islam Makhachev hasn't faced opponents as dangerous as his ahead of UFC 330

Ian Machado Garry is gearing up for his maiden opportunity to fight for the UFC welterweight title. He is set to take on pound-for-pound king and reigning champion Islam Makhachev this weekend at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia in the event headliner at UFC 330.

Ahead of the highly anticipated title fight, Garry has sparked discussion in the MMA community by claiming he has faced tougher opponents in his last five fights than Makhachev has in his.

Ian Machado Garry compares recent opponents with Islam Makhachev's

Recently, Garry was interviewed by Brett Okamoto of ESPN MMA, where the Irish star emphasized that he has never been finished and has been able to defend takedowns from Belal Muhammad and Shavkat Rakhmonov. He also highlighted Makhachev's fights against Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier, in which they were able to take rounds from the Dagestani star. He claimed the reigning champion didn't look as dominant as people think.

Garry went on to compare the last five opponents he faced with Makhachev's last five opponents and argued that his own competition was much more difficult, highlighting the threats they posed inside the octagon.

“So if you look at my last five opponents versus Islam’s last five opponents, in my opinion, it’s not a discussion who’s more difficult. When you look at who I fought, Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Carlos Prates, MVP, those four are four of the trickiest fighters on the planet. All of them present real danger.” Garry said.

The Irish star admitted that Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier were great opponents for Makhachev. Still, it argued that they were less dangerous than his opponents, such as Rakhmonov and Prates.

“As much as Volkanovski is a legend of this sport, and Dustin Poirier, they’re not as dangerous as the guys I’ve just mentioned." Garry continued. "Not only that, every single one of them is bigger, longer. Shavkat was 18-0 in 18 finishes when I fought him. He had like 10 knockouts and 8 submissions. Carlos Prates had an 11-fight win streak by knockouts.”

Check out Ian Machado Garry's comment below:

UFC 330 gives Garry a chance to prove his point

Garry's comments come as he prepares for the biggest fight of his career against Makhachev. The Irishman believes his experience against larger and more dangerous welterweights has prepared him for the challenge of facing the former lightweight champion.

Makhachev, meanwhile, has already established himself as one of the most dominant fighters of his generation. He defended his lightweight title four times and moved up to welterweight. He captured the 170-pound title with a dominant unanimous decision victory over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322.

The UFC 330 main event will now allow Garry to prove his claims inside the octagon and for Makhachev to defend his title and extend his win streak to 17, which will be the longest in UFC history.