Ian Machado Garry believes Michael Morales is the only suitable opponent for his next fight.Machado Garry lost the first UFC championship fight of his career to talkSPORT’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter Islam Makhachev last month and wants his next appearance to get him straight back into the title picture.The Irishman suffered a unanimous decision after five rounds with Makhachev in PhiladelphiaGettyThe 28-year-old from Ireland was dropped by Makhachev in the UFC 330 main event, but put on a spirited performance to take the dominant Russian champion right down to the wire.After his defeat, Machado Garry said he has a ‘decade of domination in this sport,’ and he wants to get back to winning ways against Ecuador’s undefeated Morales next.Machado Garry wants Morales fight“For me, there’s only one fight that makes sense right now, and that’s Michael Morales,” Machado Garry told Eze Talks Sports.“When I beat him, I’m the only one who deserves a title shot, even though Islam and I have just fought.“Whether Islam wins, whether Carlos Prates wins the next fight, it’s two massive rematches.“So, I go out there, and I finish Michael Morales and get my hand raised — it’s undeniable that I’m right back up there for a title shot.“That’s what I think needs to be next.”Reflecting on his performance against Makhachev, Machado Garry added: “I scored the fight 3-2 to him.“I think it was 2-2 going into the final round, and he managed to finish the round on my back — therefore, he has to win the fight.“But I was more dangerous on the feet — I was able to stop his grappling. I felt like I did everything well.Machado Garry believes his loss against Makhachev will only do him a world of good as he continues his quest to become UFC championGettyBut undefeated UFC welterweight Morales could prove to be an even tougher challenge than MakhachevGetty“It was such a high-level fight, such an elite level fight, but at the end of the day, he did what he needed to do to win the fight in the last moment of the last round.“From this moment on, I can only regroup, gather myself, gather my team, look at what we did correctly, and just continue to go.“I’m so young in this sport — I have the whole world at my feet. I just have to keep going and keep a positive mindset.”Who is Morales?Morales, 19-0 in his professional MMA career, earned his UFC contract via Dana White‘s Contender Series in 2021.The 27-year-old has since won all seven of his UFC fights, scoring three consecutive first-round, Performance of the Night-winning knockouts in his previous outings.Last time out, Morales finished top-ranked 170lbs fighter Sean Brady with relative ease, cementing his name as a threat to the division’s elites.Morales has ferocious knockout power in both hands and is just one fight away from securing his own title shotGettyBefore he fought Machado Garry, Makhachev said Morales needed at least one more fight before he deserved a title shot.And it’s hard to argue against Machado Garry’s assessment that Morales is the only opponent who makes sense for his next fight, as a victory over the Irishman would do exactly that.Both welterweight stars are also ranked in the top three of their division, with Carlos Prates, who Machado Garry beat in April 2025, the current No. 1 contender and most likely to challenge Makhachev next.On the flip side, as Machado Garry mentioned, a victory over Morales would no doubt put him up against the winner of a Makhachev vs Prates title fight, with a rematch against either man an easy selling point.Machado Garry’s quest for gloryMachado Garry is still fully confident he will be UFC champion one day.The 28-year-old was present for Katie Taylor‘s retirement fight at Croke Park in Dublin this past weekend and says he will be the man to bring the UFC back to the Emerald Isle one day.Machado Garry wants to follow in Taylor’s footsteps as one of Ireland’s greatest athletesGettyThe promotion hasn’t visited Ireland or Northern Ireland since a Fight Night card in Belfast 10 years ago.Conor McGregor welcomed the UFC back to Dublin for the first time in five years in 2014 for his fight against Diego Brandao, and the company last visited the country the following October.The longest UFC win streaksIslam Makhachev set a remarkable UFC record when he defended the welterweight title against Ian Machado Garry in August.Makhachev, 29-1, now has the longest win streak in UFC history, surpassing Anderson Silva’s longtime record of 16 consecutive wins when he outpointed Machado Garry at UFC 330.The Russian’s mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov and stars like Jon Jones feature among those who have gone on remarkable runs in the UFC over the years.And you can find the full 12-fighter list of those with the longest win streaks in UFC history on talkSPORT.com, with Georges St-Pierre and Demetrious Johnson also high up.