Ian Machado Garry vs. Joaquin Buckley set for UFC Tampa main event

Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley will battle it out in the final fight of 2024 for the UFC.

The promotion announced on Saturday that Garry and Buckley headline UFC Tampa, which takes place Dec. 14 at Amalie Arena.

Both Garry and Buckley expressed interest in stepping in to face Shavkat Rakhmonov in the main event of UFC 310 for the interim welterweight title following Belal Muhammad withdrawing due to a toe infection, but instead the UFC matchmakers have decided to pair up the surging 170-pound contenders.

The undefeated Garry competes for the third time in 2024. “The Future” earned a split decision win over Geoff Neal at UFC 298 in February, and then handed Michael Page his first promotional defeat at UFC 303 in June. Garry is currently ranked No. 7 in the MMA Fighting Global Rankings.

Buckley, No. 10, is unbeaten since moving down to welterweight, winning all five of his 170-pound octagon appearances. “New Mansa” looks to make it 4-0 in 2024 after stoppage wins over Stephen Thompson and Vicente Luque, and a unanimous decision win against Nursulton Ruziboev. The former middleweight makes his 15th UFC appearance.