Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry will face former welterweight champion Belal Muhammad in the co-main event at UFC Qatar on 22 November.<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old beat Carlos Prates<\/a> in his last UFC outing in April, after suffering a first defeat in the organisation to Shavkat Rakhmonov in December 2024.<\/p>\n American Muhammad lost his belt<\/a> to Jack Della Maddalena in May and will be vying with Machado Garry to get back in the title frame.<\/p>\n The winner will be in a strong position to face the victor of Australian Della Maddalena’s first title defence against Islam Makhachev at UFC 322 in November.<\/p>\n Russia’s Makhachev vacated his lightweight title to step up in weight to face the Australian.<\/p>\n Armenia’s Arman Tsarukyan and New Zealand’s Dan Hooker will face each other in the card’s main event in Qatar in a lightweight clash.<\/p>\n This will be the first time Tsarukyan will be back in the octagon after pulling out of a title bout<\/a> against Makhachev in January, with Hooker returning to action after being prevented from competing since August 2024 because of persistent hand injuries.<\/p>\n The match-up also hints at what could be next for Liverpool lightweight Paddy Pimblett.<\/p>\n Pimblett, 30, appears to be on the verge of a title shot. He and American Justin Gaethje are the frontrunners to fight newly crowned champion Ilia Topuria next.<\/p>\n