Ian Machado Garry-Joaquin Buckley headlines the UFC card on December 14th

The UFC ends its calendar year with a bang as welterweights Ian Machado Garry and Joaquin Buckley headline UFC Fight Night on December 14 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

The announcement of a bout between rising welterweights comes a day after welterweight champion Belal Muhammad was forced to forfeit his first title defense with undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 on December 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There has been no announcement as to whether the UFC will keep Rakhmonov on the card. With the news that Buckley and Garry will face each other a week later, the possibility of either fighter stepping in to face Rakhmonov in a potential interim title fight is eliminated.

Garry (15-0) is ranked as the No. 7 welterweight by the UFC. Garry, who fights out of Dublin, Ireland, is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Michael “Venom” Page in his last outing at UFC 303. Garry has called for a fight against Rakhmonov, but it appears the UFC will keep undefeated fighters a little longer apart.

Buckley (20-6) is currently ranked as the No. 9 welterweight by the UFC. He has won five straight fights since returning to the 170-pound weight class in May 2023. Fighting in St. Louis, Mo., Buckley finally stamped his contender status with a knockout victory over former title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson at UFC 307 in October.