Ian Machado Garry booked to fight Vicente Luque at UFC 296 in Las Vegas

Another welterweight barn burner has been booked for UFC 296, and this time it’s Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry.

The UFC’s year-end pay-per-view looks to be a crucial night for the welterweight division. In the main event of UFC 296, Leon Edwards puts his welterweight gold on the line against Colby Covington. Also featured on the card will be a 170-pound tilt between Stephen Thompson and Shavkat Rakhmonov. Now, UFC CEO Dana White has announced that Luque vs. Garry has been added to the card.

Dana White announces Vicente Luque/Ian Garry at #UFC296 pic.twitter.com/PqqVDmO3fu

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) September 24, 2023

Vicente Luque vs. Ian Machado Garry: Recent Outings

Luque figures to be a stern test for Garry. “The Silent Assassin” has competed against some well-known names in the MMA world such as Tyron Woodley, Stephen Thompson, Belal Muhammad, and most recently Rafael dos Anjos. Luque’s efforts have earned him a top 10 spot on the official UFC welterweight rankings, but he’ll need to stay on his toes if he expects to maintain that spot.

Nipping at the heels of Luque in the rankings is Garry. He sits at the number 11 spot, just one behind his UFC 296 opponent. Garry has been quickly rising in the 170-pound division. “The Future” is fresh off a dominant unanimous decision victory over seasoned veteran Neil Magny to improve his record to 13-0. A win over Luque would put Garry in the top 10.

The UFC welterweight division is quite stacked. Luque has been down this road before, suffering tough losses to Muhammad and Geoff Neal. He’s looking to show that he has improved since those fights, and a win over Garry would be the boost he needs to revisit those fights.

As for Garry, this is his big chance to take that step up. The Irishman certainly isn’t short on confidence and if he can defeat Luque, perhaps this will be the start of the next great Irish star.