Ian Machado Garry‘s son may have found himself a new favorite UFC fighter, and it’s not his dad. Following the first faceoff between ‘The Future’ and Islam Makhachev outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia for their UFC 330 title fight, the 3-year-old hoped to finally meet the welterweight champion. But the opportunity never arrived, since Makhachev immediately left the spot after their face-off.
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Filmmaker Will Harris captured the entire event for his Anatomy of a Fighter series, and it’s one of those wholesome moments that makes fight week feel a little more human. Leo was gutted after Islam Makhachev walked away, but things were about to get a whole lot better.
“Leo, we’ll see him tomorrow; it’s okay,” Garry told the teary-eyed toddler. “He’s gone home now, okay? Later on, tomorrow, okay? If you see him, if you see him, do you want to shake his hand and say hello?”
That just made the youngster even more emotional. So, ‘The Future’ then picked up his son and tried to explain why the champion had to leave quickly.
“He’s very busy, okay?” Garry told Leo. “When you’re the champion, you have a lot of media. You see how much stuff daddy does? He does the same as me. So he comes, he does his work, and then he’s leaving, okay?
“I promise you, I will, I will get you to say hello to him during the week, okay? And I’m sure he will say yes. Does that make sense? Love you.”
It turns out Ian Garry may not have to put in too much effort into making it happen. Islam Makhachev was asked about the incident at his UFC 330 media day appearance, and the champion had a surprisingly sweet response.
“Yeah, sure, I will meet him,” Makhachev told the media. “I don’t see him there, but I make him happy.”
Given the stakes between the Dagestani phenom and Ian Garry, this is a particularly wholesome moment. The two will face off in the main event of UFC 330 this weekend, with the Irishman hoping to dethrone Islam Makhachev and win his first UFC title.
And unlike the infamous rivalry between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, there has been little animosity between these two main event fighters. In fact, Makhachev appears to be more than willing to take a few minutes out of his rigorous fight week schedule to make his opponent’s son happy.
‘The Future’ will be trying to follow in the footsteps of Conor McGregor, the man who inspired him to take up MMA, by becoming a UFC champion this Saturday. But first, his son will likely have the opportunity to meet one of the sport’s biggest stars.
It is worth noting that this isn’t the first time the Irishman’s son has shown some love for one of his father’s opponents. Back in 2025, ‘The Future’ asked his son to choose his favorite fighter. And Leo replied by naming Carlos Prates, who had shared the Octagon with his father just months prior.
“Imagine beating a man up for 23 and a half minutes and then leaving the fight. And your son’s favorite fighter is the other guy,” Garry joked.
Now, it appears Leo has another fighter he wants to meet. However, while the whole story should have ended there on a wholesome note, things took a much more bizarre turn online.
Josh Hokit targets Ian Garry’s son for fan moment
Islam Makhachev’s promise to meet Ian Garry’s son would normally be nothing more than a pleasant moment between two fighters’ families. Unfortunately, heavyweight contender and the Irishman’s biggest critic, Josh Hokit, decided to insert himself into the storyline and win an odd social media comment.
After a video of Ian Garry’s son crying after failing to meet Makhachev went viral online, ‘The Incredible Hok’ tweeted that if ‘The Future’ tried to have his kid shake his hand, he would “punt” the child.
“Try to play that game and have your kid shake my hand.. I’d punt that f—— kid,” he wrote on X.
But if Josh Hokit believed he would walk out unscathed after writing such a tweet, he couldn’t be more wrong. As expected, the bizarre comment immediately drew criticism, and fellow heavyweight Valter Walker did not shy away from pushing back on ‘The Incredible Hok.’
“Any jacka– with two personalities, just so he can hide behind one of them, is a complete idiot,” Walker wrote. “Just shut up. Incredible s—.”
Well, it would be interesting to see if this little Twitter war will turn out to be a new matchup in the making. But for now, all eyes are on Islam Makhachev and Ian Garry as they prepare for their massive title fight. And if everything goes as planned, Leo should get his long-awaited meeting with the UFC champion by the end of the week.
Given how emotional he was after missing the first opportunity, it may even end up being one of the most memorable moments of UFC 330 fight week.
