It’s time for Ian Machado Garry to level up.
The undefeated welterweight prospect has been paired with rough-and-tumble 170-pound veteran Geoff Neal for the upcoming UFC 292 pay-per-view (PPV) event, recently made official for Sat., Aug. 19, 2023 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
That’s according to a report from RT Sport.
Garry (12-0) made his Octagon debut at UFC 268 back in late 2021, ending Jordan Williams by way of first-round knockout. “The Future” would go on to win his next four contests, which includes last month’s technical knockout victory over Daniel Rodriguez on the UFC Charlotte main card.
As for Neal (15-5), ranked five spots above Garry at No. 8, he’s looking to rebound from a submission loss to welterweight wunderkind Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 285 last March. Prior to that defeat, “Handz of Steel” captured back-to-back wins over Santiago Ponzinibbio (UFC 269) and Vicente Luque (UFC Vegas 59).
Expect fireworks.
UFC 292 will be headlined by the bantamweight title fight between reigning 135-pound champion Aljamain Sterling and No. 2-ranked contender Sean O’Malley. Prior to that five-round clash of styles, strawweight champion Zhang Weili makes her next 115-pound title defense against Brazilian bruiser Amanda Lemos. Elsewhere on the card, former UFC middleweight kingpin Chris Weidman returns from injury to battle 185-pound stalwart Brad Tavares.
Stay tuned for more UFC 292 fight card announcements in the coming weeks.