Ian Machado Garry blasts Islam Makhachev after claiming he accepted White House fight vs. Ilia Topuria

Ian Machado Garry continues to question Islam Makhachev’s alleged hand injury after an online back-and-forth with Ilia Topuria.

UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev and lightweight titleholder Ilia Topuria continue to go back and forth on why a superfight wasn’t finalized for the promotion’s upcoming White House card. Topuria will headline the event opposite Justin Gaethje in a lightweight title unification bout, but Makhachev was the rumored opponent for Topuria for months.

After Topuria accused Makhachev and his manager of pulling out of last-second negotiations for UFC Freedom 250, Makhachev didn’t let Topuria’s claims go unanswered in a lengthy social media post. Makhachev responded by accusing Topuria of asking for too much money in negotiations and sabotaging talks with the UFC brass.

Following the aftermath of the failed Makhachev vs. Topuria fight talks, Makhachev will return his focus to fully recovering from a hand injury and defending the UFC welterweight title. One of Makhachev’s potential next opponents, Ian Machado Garry, wasn’t happy to see Makhachev spending more effort addressing Topuria than focusing on making a title defense come to fruition.

Ian Machado Garry questions Islam Makhachev after addressing Ilia Topuria’s ‘stories’

In a recent post to X, Garry responded to Makhachev’s lengthy statement by teasing a potential timeline for a future fight with the champ.

“So your hand is fine then? No more excuses see you [in] August,” Garry tweeted to Makhachev.

Garry made a strong case for a title shot with an impressive win over Belal Muhammad in his most recent fight at UFC Qatar last year. He’s rebounded well from a short-notice loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310, earning wins over Carlos Prates and Muhammad.

This isn’t the first time that Garry has questioned Makhachev’s ongoing hiatus from competition. Earlier this year, Garry admitted that Makhachev could be faking the hand injury to avoid facing one of the welterweight division’s top contenders.

Who do you think Islam Makhachev will fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!