“I’m on another level”: the vegan UFC fighter Ian Machado Garry

“Before I was plant-based, I was strong. But now, I'm on another level.” That is Ian Machado Garry, 28, from Dublin, the number one welterweight in the UFC and, since August 2026, the face of a PETA UK campaign. He lost his title fight at the weekend. The story that makes him interesting is untouched by that.

The face of the campaign

Under the line “The Future Is Plant-Based”, Machado Garry has been fronting a campaign for plant-based eating since early August. The wording plays on his nickname: in the UFC he is known as “The Future”. The ad shows him in black fight gear, alongside the line “The Future Is Now”.

What stands out is how he argues for it. Not with animal rights first, but with performance:

Every fighter wants to be the best. For me, it starts with what I put in my body. Before I was plant-based, I was strong. But now, I'm on another level. Because strength isn't just power. It's clarity. Endurance. Discipline. I'm not just fighting opponents. I'm fighting limits to be the best version of me and the best athlete out there.

Ian Machado Garry, PETA campaign, August 2026

Why combat sport matters here

Few sports cling as hard to the idea that you cannot get anywhere without meat. Weight cutting, recovery between brutal training blocks, raw strength: the cage is where plant-based eating is supposed to fall apart.

Which is exactly why it carries weight when someone from that world says otherwise. Machado Garry is not a fringe figure. He headlined one of the biggest events of the year. A fighter at that level who has eaten plant-based for years makes “it cannot be done” a harder line to hold.

What his case proves, and what it does not

Precision matters more than enthusiasm here. His career does not prove that plant-based eating makes anyone perform better. It proves that it does not stand in the way of a world-class career. That is where most arguments end, and it is enough.

The same applies in reverse to the loss. Anyone pinning it on his diet would have to explain why the same diet carried him to the top of the rankings first. Makhachev has now won 17 straight in the UFC, a record. Nobody loses to him because of dinner.

That puts Machado Garry alongside athletes such as Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, who have eaten plant-based for years and say so publicly.

The fight, briefly

At UFC 330 in Philadelphia, Machado Garry lost to champion Islam Makhachev by unanimous decision, scored 49-46, 49-46 and 48-47. A high kick dropped him in the second round and he conceded seven takedowns across the fight. His best spell came in round three, where he stuffed takedowns and answered with body and head kicks. For Makhachev it was a 17th consecutive UFC win and a new record.

Machado Garry's record now stands at 17 wins and 2 losses. The first came against Shavkat Rakhmonov in December 2024, after which he beat Carlos Prates and, in November 2025, former champion Belal Muhammad.

Who he is

Born on 17 November 1997 in Portmarnock near Dublin, he came to mixed martial arts through boxing, with more than 300 bouts behind him and a black belt in judo. He has trained at Chute Boxe Diego Lima in Brazil since 2023. At 6 foot 3 he is unusually tall for welterweight, which shapes how he fights: long range, precise striking.

He does not publish a detailed nutrition plan. What he describes are the effects: better recovery, more clarity, undiminished strength.