Irish UFC star Ian Machado Garry is Conor McGregor’s protege and he wants to fight Islam Makhachev, trained by the Notorious’ great rival Khabib Nurmagomedov
Ian Machado Garry recalled the biggest fight in UFC history as he prepares to make more of his own.
Conor McGregor versus Khabib Nurmagomedov remains the highest-grossing MMA fight of all time, with the UFC 229 main event making more than $17m on the gate in Las Vegas and drawing 2.4m pay-per-view buys in 2018.
Fast forward to today and Nurmagomedov-trained Islam Makhachev is the new welterweight champion and fellow Dubliner and ‘Notorious’ protege Garry is set to be named his first challenger.
‘The Future’ is adamant he’s secured his spot as the first in line by defeating former 170lb champion Belal Muhammad in Qatar, the 28-year-old earning a unanimous decision after winning the striking battle and repelling all of his opponent’s takedown attempts.
Garry, who is 10-1 in the octagon, said: “I have nothing but respect for Islam. The guy is the pound-for-pound No.1 and the champion of my division.
“However, when you come into my division and you are the only thing that is stopping me, that is in the way of me achieving my dreams, I’m going to make sure I punch a hole in your head.
“Islam is the protege of Khabib and I am the protege of Conor. He is the new wave from Dagestan – more technical on the feet, a more technical grappler than Khabib. I am a longer, faster, more versatile version of Conor.
“It’s the perfect fight to make. He has to take me down and I have to keep the fight on the feet.
“He has a duty as champion of the welterweight division to fight the best in the world. Here, I proved I’m the best in the world.”
While rising contenders Michael Morales and Carlos Prates enjoyed statement wins at UFC 322 earlier this month, Garry believes his CV makes him the standout candidate to face ex-lightweight king Makhachev first.
He added: “He has to fight me next. There is nobody that has fought a deeper way, that has fought the guys, from top to bottom, that I have.
“D-Rod (Daniel Rodriguez), (Neil) Magny, Geoff Neal, MVP (Michael ‘Venon’ Page), Shavkat (Rakhmonov), Prates and now Belal – and I haven’t even got a title shot yet.
“Now they’re going to throw some flash in the pans out there? Not a chance. Not on my watch. Over my dead body.”
While McGregor, a former two-division champ, has claimed UFC gold, Garry, with victory over Muhammad, has now matched his fellow countryman for most wins by an Irish fighter in the Octagon.
He said: “I’m tied at 10, but that’s going to be broken pretty soon. I’m tying records of the greatest that have ever done this sport and I’m 28 years of age. There’s a long, long way to go.”
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MONEY MATCH: Bogdan Guskov (evens) can edge out aging former light-heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz. Odds and full UFC betting available at boylesports.com
FINAL SAY: “Arman, every time we see each other in person you freeze up like a scared duck with no idea what to do.” Lightweight champ Ilia Topuria is not worried about facing Arman Tsarukyan next, despite his dominant win over Dan Hooker in Qatar.