Machado Garry to face Makhachev for UFC title

Machado Garry has fought off competition from second-ranked Carlos Prates and third-ranked Michael Morales to secure the title shot.

Brazil's Prates has knocked out his last three opponents, although lost to Machado Garry in April last year, while Ecuador's Morales has won all 19 of his fights.

In 2024, Machado Garry lost a number one contender bout against Shavkat Rakhmonov but the Kazakh fighter has not fought since after struggling with injury.

In February, he was removed from the UFC's welterweight rankings, which promoted Machado Garry.

The last fighter from Ireland to compete for a belt in a major MMA promotion was Karl Moore when he lost a Bellator light-heavyweight title fight against Corey Anderson in 2024.

In the co-main event in Philadelphia, American-Brazilian Mackenzie Dern will make the first defence of her strawweight title against Canada's Gillian Robertson.

Dern, 33, beat Virna Jandiroba for the belt in October for her third straight victory, while 31-year-old Robertson comes into the bout on a five-fight win streak.