It appears that the Ultimate Fighting Championship already had a plan for Ian Garry. According to a UFC announcement on Friday, Garry (15-0) and Joaquin Buckley (20-6) will clash in the main event of UFC Tampa, also known as UFC on ESPN 63, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. on December 14th. Garry had demanded a chance to fight for an interim 170-pound strap against Shavkat Rakhmonov due to champion 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 and introduced himself to the frontrunners by smashing Jordan Williams at the end of the first round. The undefeated Irishman has fought his way up the welterweight rankings with five wins since the start of 2023 and most recently surpassed Michael Page in the points list. Along the way, The Future also surpassed the likes of Daniel Rodriguez, Neil Magny and Geoff Neal.

Since dropping back down to welterweight, Buckley has been a man obsessed with his new weight class. “New Mansa” has five wins since May 2023, with knockouts of Andre Fialho, Vicente Luque and Stephen Thompson and a resume full of highlights. Buckley, who lost his organizational debut to Kevin Holland in 2020, made a name for himself in 2020 by attacking Impa Kasanganay with a scenic spinning back kick.

UFC on ESPN 63, the final UFC card of 2024, debuts on December 14th at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. With the Garry-Buckley pageant, the lineup appears relatively complete. Other main card matchups include a flyweight bout between Manel Kape and Bruno Silva, a strawweight contest pitting Amanda Ribas against Mackenzie Dern, and a 125-pound clash between Miranda Maverick and Tracy Cortez.