Ian Machado Garry was loudly booed by fans at the UFC 330 news conference in Philadelphia ahead of his welterweight title fight against Islam Makhachev on Saturday. The Irish challenger said the reaction did not concern him and predicted supporters would chant his name if he beat Makhachev, describing the contest as the fulfilment of a dream to fight for a world title.

Machado Garry, 28, has won 17 of 18 professional bouts and is 10-1 in the UFC, while Makhachev, 34, has lost only once in 29 fights and is pursuing an 18th successive UFC victory. Makhachev vacated the lightweight title after four defences and won the welterweight belt in November; a win would take him beyond Anderson Silva’s long-standing record of 16 consecutive UFC victories. The pair were cordial at Thursday’s face-off, although Machado Garry also criticised a journalist for asking a question he felt was designed to provoke disagreement.