Stephen Thompson backs Ian Garry

Stephen Thompson has added a calm but sharp voice to the Islam Makhachev welterweight conversation, and he did not go with the safest name on the board.

While the division keeps circling around title options, Thompson pointed at Ian Machado Garry as the kind of fighter who could make Makhachev work harder than people expect. Not because Garry is louder than everyone else. Not because he has turned the callout game into a full-time job. Thompson looked at the actual matchup: range, movement, stance work, timing, and the one part of Garry’s game that often gets buried under the striking talk.

“I think Ian Garry would give him a hard time,” Thompson said. He also noted that Garry is not afraid to wrestle, which is not a small detail when the name across from him is Makhachev.

That is where this discussion gets more serious. Makhachev is not just a champion with strong grappling. He is one of the most controlled fighters in the sport, the kind of opponent who makes good strikers feel rushed and good wrestlers feel late. If Thompson sees Garry as a difficult style puzzle, it is worth paying attention. He has spent his whole career reading distance, timing and the small mistakes that happen before a fighter gets dragged into bad positions.

Thompson likes Garry’s tools

Garry has always looked comfortable when he can manage space. He is long for welterweight, patient with his feet and good at making opponents pay for reaching. Against a pressure grappler, that kind of frame can be useful only if the fighter knows how to keep his balance, reset his stance and avoid giving up easy entries.

Thompson believes Garry has more than just reach. He pointed to how Garry puts his hands and feet together, and how he is willing to wrestle instead of treating grappling like an emergency plan. That is the part that makes the Makhachev idea more interesting. Garry does not have to out-wrestle Makhachev for 25 minutes. He would need to make the first layer ugly enough that Makhachev cannot walk into his favorite positions without resistance.

There is still a big gap between being a difficult matchup on paper and actually doing it inside the cage. Makhachev has built his career on taking away the first good idea an opponent brings. He pressures without rushing, clinches without panic and turns defensive grappling into long, draining minutes. Garry would have to stay disciplined from the first exchange to the last.

• Thompson believes Garry’s length can make the matchup awkward for Makhachev.
• He also praised Garry’s willingness to wrestle, not just strike at range.
• Makhachev’s control game remains the biggest problem for any welterweight contender.
• The fight has not been officially announced by the UFC.

Garry is not an easy read

What makes Garry dangerous in this conversation is not one single weapon. It is the mix. He can fight long, circle away, stab at the body, change rhythm and force opponents to chase. When a tall welterweight does that well, takedown entries become less clean. Shots come from farther away. Clinches start later. Scrambles become more valuable.

Makhachev would still be the favorite in most rooms. His experience in championship fights, his physical strength and his ability to chain wrestling into control are all proven at the highest level. Garry has not shown that same championship layer yet. But Thompson is not saying Garry is a finished champion. He is saying the style gives Makhachev problems.

That is a fair distinction. A fighter can be the underdog and still be the wrong kind of headache. Garry’s job would be to keep the fight moving, keep Makhachev turning, deny clean grips and make the champion restart attacks again and again. The longer that happens, the more the striking exchanges start to matter.

The title picture stays crowded

The welterweight title picture is not short on names. Garry, Carlos Prates, Michael Morales and Kamaru Usman have all been pulled into the wider Makhachev discussion in different ways. Some bring finishing power. Some bring experience. Some bring fresh momentum. Garry brings a frame and style that make people argue about the actual fight, not just the ranking spot.

That is why Thompson’s comment works. He is not throwing a random name into the air. He is looking at the mechanics. A tall, composed welterweight who can strike, move and wrestle just enough to stay alive is not the easiest night for any grappling-heavy champion, even one as sharp as Makhachev.

The UFC has not announced Makhachev’s next title defense, and Garry is not guaranteed anything until the promotion says it. But the conversation around him is getting harder to ignore. When a striker like Thompson looks at Garry and sees a real tactical problem for Makhachev, it gives the Irish contender a cleaner argument than a normal callout.

Garry still has to prove he can carry that argument into a title fight. Makhachev still has the kind of game that can make good ideas disappear after one clinch. But if this matchup ever lands on a UFC poster, Thompson has already pointed to the part that will decide whether Garry is just another challenger or a real problem at 170 pounds.