Capping off the year with a BANGER @IanGarryMMA vs @NewMansa94 is the #UFCTampa MAIN EVENT!
Get tickets https://t.co/eoKeUgRb8k pic.twitter.com/QJofp85j9y
— UFC (@ufc) November 1, 2024
It appears the Ultimate Fighting Championship already had a plan for Ian Garry.
Per a UFC release on Friday, Garry (15-0) will be coming to blows with Joaquin Buckley (20-6) in the main event of UFC Tampa, also known as UFC on ESPN 63. The two welterweights will get after it inside of the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 14. Garry had been calling for a chance to vie for an interim 170-pound strap against Shavkat Rakhmonov due to champ Belal Muhammad’s illness, but the promotion is going in a different direction.
Garry has passed every test since joining the UFC roster in 2021, introducing himself to the brass by smashing Jordan Williams at the tail end of the first round. The unbeaten Irishman has slugged his way up the welterweight ladder with five wins since early 2023, most recently topping Michael Page on the scorecards. Along the way up, “The Future” also surpassed names including Daniel Rodriguez, Neil Magny and Geoff Neal.
Since dropping back down to welterweight, Buckley has been a man possessed in his new weight class. “New Mansa” has rattled off five victories dating back to May 2023, with knockouts of Andre Fialho, Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson bolstering a resume packed with highlight-reel finishes. Buckley, who lost his organizational debut in 2020 to Kevin Holland, put himself on the map by lamping Impa Kasanganay with a picturesque spinning back kick in 2020.
UFC on ESPN 63, the final UFC card of 2024, goes down on Dec. 14 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. With the marquee match of Garry-Buckley on the books, the lineup appears relatively complete. Additional main card pairings include a flyweight scrap pitting Manel Kape against Bruno Silva, a strawweight tilt when Amanda Ribas faces Mackenzie Dern and a 125-pound encounter between Miranda Maverick and Tracy Cortez.
