Of all the top welterweight contenders to compete the past two weeks, UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping thinks Ian Machado Garry stood out the most.

Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) defeated former champion Belal Muhammad in Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 265 co-headliner in Qatar. Bisping was especially impressed with Machado Garry’s ability to keep the fight on the feet.

“He looked smooth, he stopped every single takedown, he’s polarizing, he talks a lot of crap,” Bisping said of Machado Garry on his YouTube channel. “And you know what? I’ve grown to really like this guy because he backs it up in the octagon. He talks a lot of trash, but he backs it up, and he dances around the octagon. He’s got beautiful footwork, he’s got good power, he’s got excellent striking, takedown defense was perfect.”

Machado Garry was last to perform out of the division’s hungry contenders vying for a title shot. At UFC 322, Carlos Prates knocked out Leon Edwards, and Michael Morales ran through Sean Brady. But with Machado Garry having just beat Prates in April, Bisping is sold on seeing the brash Irishman challenge UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) next.

“There’s kind of like a bit of a mini tournament at welterweight,” Bisping said. “Who’s going to make the biggest splash? Well, he’s already beaten Carlos Prates. He’s already beaten him even though he knocked out Leon Edwards. Michael Morales beat Sean Brady in spectacular fashion, and he’s 19-0, and he’s undefeated, but I think Ian Garry beating a former champion in Belal Muhammad and with the promo he did and the way he hypes it up, and the way he talks about Khabib vs. Conor being the biggest fight of all time, and this is kind of like the next generation of that.

“Islam is obviously a protege of Khabib and Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov, and Conor of course comes from Ireland and talks the same kind of trash. I kind of get his point. The promo on the mic, the way he called out Islam was phenomenal. … I think Ian Garry should be next, and there’s not many of people that will be calling out Islam Makhachev because he’s a terrible matchup for a lot of people, but Ian Garry’s takedown defense (vs. Muhammad) was phenomenal.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Bisping campaigns for Ian Machado Garry vs. Islam Makhachev