Ian Machado Garry: Vegan diet is crucial to my UFC title charge

As Ian Machado Garry prepares for the biggest fight of his career, he pinpoints a change he made to his diet five years ago as being crucial to his rise in the UFC.

Despite a winning debut in the promotion against Jordan Williams, behind the scenes Machado Garry had been struggling with his physical health.

During weight cutting for his fights, the Irishman says he caught a number of bugs and infections because his immune system was depleted.

It was then that Machado Garry decided to transition to a vegan plant-based diet - and the 28-year-old has not looked back since.

After winning nine of his next 10 fights, Machado Garry has earned the opportunity to face Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title at UFC 330 in Philadelphia on 15 August.

"If I didn't go vegan, I wouldn't be in the position I am right now - one million per cent," Machado Garry tells BBC Sport.

"Because I saw the negative effects that my diet was having towards my weight cutting and my fighting. I kept consistently getting sick."

Should he beat Russia's Makhachev, Machado Garry would become the first Irish champion in the UFC since Conor McGregor.

Machado Garry says while he was eating meat his body had to "work harder internally" to digest food, but since switching to a plant-based diet he has felt improvements in his "rest and recovery".

He points to fights against Carlos Prates and Shavkat Rakhmonov, both of which were taken on short notice, as examples.

"I don't think I would have been able to fight Prates and Rakhmonov on seven days' notice before," says Machado Garry.

"My weight management since I've been vegan has been amazing. My recovery, my rest, my output, my training has been second to none.

"So I've been able to take short-notice fights to put myself in a position to beat the best guys in the world."

Machado Garry joins other vegan athletes such as Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton, while tennis great Venus Williams and mixed martial arts (MMA) brothers Nick and Nate Diaz have championed plant-based diets.

Benefits to a vegan diet include higher fibre and lower cholesterol, but important balanced diet components, such as protein and vitamin B12, which are usually found in meat, fish, eggs and dairy, must be supplemented.

Machado Garry says he has had to become more disciplined since changing his diet because the nutrients he needs are not always readily available, but the move has complemented his fitness.

"I'm in a sport where I have to watch my weight and everything that I eat matters," he adds.

"I don't think veganism is for everyone because I don't think everybody has the discipline to follow this lifestyle. But if you do, you will reap the benefits and you will reap the rewards.

"This will be my 11th fight where I've been vegan. No injuries. No soft tissue injuries, no muscle problems, no anything."

Machado Garry's change to a plant-based diet was initially to help his UFC career, but he has also become vocal about the positive effects he believes it can have on animal welfare and the environment.

The fighter, who has partnered with animal rights charity Peta, wants to use his platform as a potential champion to raise awareness about the environment.

On average, a plant-based diet has significantly fewer emissions than a diet containing meat.

During the interview last month which took place over Zoom, Machado Garry is walking through a park in Surrey during a heatwave which produced record-breaking temperatures in the UK.

The temperatures, a result of global warming, are expected to cause the highest number of heat-related deaths in England this year since records began.

"As I mature, as I get older I see the effect that every human can have with their choices on the planet," said Machado Garry.

"Look at the change global warming has had to our summers here. We used to be lucky here in England if we would get mid-to-high 20s. Now it's been consistently over 30C here.

"Our decisions affect the animals, it affects the birds, it affects the bees, it affects all humans across the world, it affects sea life. So we need to be more conscious of the decisions we make day in and day out."