Ian Machado Garry is wasting no time in trying to put his title-fight loss behind him.
After being outpointed by UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in August, Machado Garry has already booked his return to the Octagon, as he prepares to take on Yaroslav Amosov.
The Irishman will fight Amosov in the co-main event of a Fight Night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, scheduled for 5 December.
The event will be headlined by Israel Adesanya vs Shara Magomedov, as former middleweight king Adesanya aims to snap a streak of three knockout losses.
Machado Garry, 28, took to Instagram to address his fight with Amosov, writing: “Anyone. Anytime.”
Amosov is a former Bellator welterweight champion who debuted in the UFC last December. Since then, the Ukrainian has gone 2-0.
The 33-year-old debuted with a submission win over veteran Neil Magny, before beating Joel Alvarez by the same means in May.
The Ukrainian is a grappling specialist who has scored 13 of his 30 professional wins by submission. Meanwhile, Machado Garry has shown himself to be a well-rounded fighter, but his striking has proven his greatest asset so far.
The Irishman’s loss to Makhachev was his second as a pro, coming a year-and-a-half after he was outpointed by Shavkat Rakhmonov.
The bout with Rakhmonov was billed as a No 1 contender’s fight, but a knee injury cost the Kazakh his shot at Belal Muhammad, who held the title at the time. Rakhmonov has not fought since, and this week he dismissed rumours that he has suffered yet another injury.
Meanwhile, Muhammad was dethroned by Jack Della Maddalena last May, with pound-for-pound No 1 Makhachev taking the belt from “JDM” last November.
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