The Empty Frame

In the psychology of champions, belief is never abstract. It is tangible, deliberate, and often quietly uncompromising. At the Surrey home of UFC welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry, that belief is not hidden in affirmations or motivational slogans. It’s framed.

Eagle-eyed followers on social media recently noticed two frames mounted side by side in Garry’s living room. The first contains history: his Cage Warriors world title, the belt that marked his arrival and confirmed potential realised. The second contains nothing at all.

Well…Almost nothing.

The plaque beneath the empty frame reads with unflinching certainty: UFC Welterweight World Champion - Coming Soon…

This is not bravado. It is psychological architecture.

Elite performance psychologists often speak about identity priming - the act of surrounding oneself with cues that reinforce not who you hope to be, but who you already believe yourself to be becoming. Machado Garry’s empty frame is a masterclass in this discipline.

It’s absence with intent. A daily confrontation with the gap between now and destiny.

“I want to see the empty frame every single day,” Machado Garry has said. “To remind me I have a job to do.”

There is something profoundly unglamorous about that sentence. No mysticism. No theatrics. Just work.

The empty frame demands fulfilment.

It removes the comfort of imagination and replaces it with accountability. In doing so, it mirrors the mindset of the greats, those who understand that confidence is not loud, but lived.

Mohammad Ali created his own future using language. His well know “I am” poetry of pressure. Christiano Ronaldo has filled his home with current trophies. His environment constantly reflects the standard he expects of himself.

This is the psychology that separates contenders from champions. Not the ability to visualise victory, but the courage to live alongside its absence without flinching. To let the unfinished space stare back at you daily, unimpressed by excuses.

In Machado Garry’s home, success is not something to be admired retrospectively. It is something that waits patiently to be earned.

The Cage Warriors belt reminds him where he has been. The empty frame reminds him who he is becoming.

Perhaps that is the quiet truth about champions: before the belt is wrapped around the waist, it must already have a place on the wall.

UFC Gym Doha Awarded The Future Diamond

There’s a quiet question circulating among serious gym owners lately. Not how do we grow? or how do we market better? but something far more uncomfortable:

Are we actually operating at the level we think we are?

That question sits at the heart of The Future Diamond - a distinction increasingly spoken about as ‘the Michelin star of the fitness world.’ Not just because it’s glamorous, but because it’s uncompromising. The Diamond exists to recognise gyms that have moved beyond trends and tactics, and into something far rarer: repeatable excellence.

This week, UFC Gym Doha became the newest Diamond member.

Unlike conventional awards, The Future Diamond isn’t claimed through entry forms or campaigns. It’s earned through standards, and culture. The kinds of things gym owners obsess over privately, long after the lights are off and the last class has left.

Ian Machado Garry - UFC fighter and founder of The Future Diamond personally handed the Diamond trophy to gym manager Souhel, marking a recognition of the hard work put into the Doha gym. UFC Doha features incredibly private and entirely separate men’s and women’s facilities across a 20’000sq foot space which houses an official full sized 30ft octagon. A perfect space for several world class athletes to train during UFC’s debut in Qatar. Names such as Ilyas Toporia, Khamzat Chimaev and our own Ian Machado Garry all found UFC Doha to top standard for their physical preparations.

For gym owners paying attention, The Diamond isn’t about being the biggest room in the city. It’s about being the room other coaches want to learn from. The one athletes trust. The one that quietly raises the bar for everyone else.

The list itself remains intentionally small, but not closed. It grows only when a gym proves that it belongs. For those curious enough to look beyond marketing metrics and into what genuine operational excellence looks like, more on The Future Diamond can be found at thefuturegroupglobal.net.

So… What Has Ian Machado Garry Actually Done?

Kamaru Usman’s agent Ali Abdelaziz has been posting his arguments for why his client deserves a title shot over top contender Ian Machado Garry. His reasons are stated as “What the f*ck has Ian Garry done the last couple years?” and “Kamaru Usman is one of the biggest names in the division” (He conveniently forgot to mention the 10% - 20% cut of his clients fee that undoubtedly adds a spark to his relentless enthusiasm).

He’s a smart man. He knows a story sells more than fairness in this sport and if the traction online keeps mentioning Usman’s name (even in the negative) it’s still traction. The more they talk the more likely the scenario may happen. AJ v Jake the most recent testament to that.

However Abdelaziz seems to have forgotten, or is in sweet denial, of just how far behind ‘The Future’ his client really is.

The night Usman beat Colby was the very same night Ian debuted in The UFC.

Since his debut night at Maddison Square Garden where Usman beat a wilting 31 year old Colby Covington, Ian has had 10 wins in the UFC whilst Usman has had one… just 1.

One win in four years. Meanwhile Ian has fought Carlos Prates on short notice, Shavkat Rakmanov on short notice and amassed a staggering 10 wins.

Thats where Abdelaziz’ argument collapses rending any further discussion utterly redundant so we move swiftly on…

Carlos Prates, one of the most exciting names in the welterweight division, may have many finishes to his name but there’s one man he failed to finish.

A man who dominated the fight off the back of a mere 21 days notice. Ian won unanimously and with the brazen celebration of putting out a cigarette, he placed Prates firmly behind him.

Another candidate being floated in the title-shot discourse is Michael Morales, though the numbers don’t exactly back up the hype. He’s clocked just three wins over ranked opponents, all of them conveniently past their athletic sell-by date - roughly a decade older than Morales himself. It’s less a murderers’ row and more a carefully curated résumé.

Meanwhile, Ian’s curriculum vitae sits in a different tier altogether. Two short-notice fights taken without complaint, both against the division’s most dangerous problems, and a total of six wins over ranked opponents. No padding, no favourable matchmaking - just real talent.

This leaves us with Shavkat. An incredible all round welterweight who beat Ian by decision in 2024 after Ian accepted a last minute battle (25 days notice) with the boogeyman of the division.

Shavkat took 16 knee stomps to his left knee which buckled several times during a 25 minute thrilling back and forth with the Irishman. Shavkat may have won by decision but as you watch him wince out of the octagon you will witness the pride on Ian’s face. The Irishman may have lost on paper but he certainly wasn’t beaten, In fact he showed us all that Shavkat was beatable.

Two suspected knee surgeries (word of mouth from Shavkat’s camp this is not entirely verified) and almost a year later and whether he’s still in the running for a title shot has come up for debate. Inactivity is cited by fans as the main reason Shavkat should not get a title shot - an argument destroyed by UFC themselves when they gave JDM a championship opportunity of the back of over a year out. That ended in a short lived reign and one of the most embarrassing title defences in recent history. Flash in the pan defined.

From where we’re standing, the conversation is mercifully short. It’s Shavkat or it’s Ian. Shavkat earned his place by winning a title eliminator against Ian. When Shavkat couldn’t answer the call, that moment should have defaulted to Ian. No politics. Just logic.

Shavkat’s time out has stalled him massively he’s got only 4 wins against ranked opponents to Ian’s 6. Ian has also just beaten the former champion in Belal Mohammad whilst Shavkat has been promoting luxury 4x4’s.

Shavkat doesn’t need to push his right to fight - if he was wise he would sit back and wait, let Ian take the reign because Shavkat knows that when Ian wins the belt…

“My first call out as champion will be Shavkat Rakmanov” - Ian Machado Garry

The UFC work in mysterious ways. We wouldn’t be surprised is Colby Covington randomly got a title shot - but Ian Machado Garry has certainly done more than enough.

Quotes and stats and facts sourced from links below. If what you’re reading doesn’t back up their quotes or stats then just don’t believe that sh*t:

* Usman agent quoted: https://www.bjpenn.com/mma-news/kamaru-usman/kamaru-usmans-manager-makes-his-pitch-for-islam-makhachev-title-fight/

*Shavkat promoting 4x4’s https://orbis-auto.kz/en/news/smi/30/#:~:text=A%20fighter%20who%20occupies%20the,seventh%20number%20of%20the%20UFC.

*Ian’s quote: https://www.thefuturegroup.net

*Stats:https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/171377-ian-garry