What separates a champion from a superstar? The general idea is
that the foundation for a champion is laid in the gym. They earn
their wings and credibility representing their gym in local
tournaments, eventually soaring to new heights on grand stages like
the
Ultimate Fighting Championship. While reaching the pinnacle of
the sport requires sweat equity, and one might argue the need for
natural talent, not every great fighter becomes a star.
Ian
Garry is a breed apart. He has all the makings of a champion
and the infectious charisma of a potential future superstar. The
Irishman has the gift of gab, the talent to back his boastful
assertions, the zest of youth, and as every superstar does, a fair
share of detractors eagerly anticipating his downfall.
But what led to Garry becoming this highly sought-after figure?
“The Future” entered the UFC basking in the success of seven
triumphs with no losses, already in possession of a welterweight
title in
Cage Warriors Fighting Championship, one of the world's top
feeder organizations. He has carried that momentum forward in the
UFC, amassing six victories with three finishes.
Garry was a primary headline grabber at UFC 296 despite never
making it to his scheduled bout against
Vicente
Luque due to pneumonia. Before the fight, he faced persistent
scrutiny, encompassing his wife's past work, verbal onslaughts from
UFC middleweight champion
Sean
Strickland, and a notable departure from Team Renegade.
In the face of those challenges, Garry relied on the pillar of
support provided by his family, took on the scrutiny head-on, and
stuck to what he does best: perfecting his skills as a martial
artist. Going into his next fight, he must be going through a gamut
of emotions, waiting with vehement desire at the chance of
retribution to silence his doubters.
As he prepares to take on
Geoff Neal at
UFC 298 on Saturday, we take a look at five defining moments of his
undefeated career.
5-Star Finishing Streak
After a successful debut against
James
Sheehan at Cage Warriors 101, Garry embarked on a destructive
spree in his next five bouts. It began with
Matteo
Ceglia in a catchweight bout contested at 177 lbs. at the Cage
Warriors: Unplugged 2 card, where Garry secured a second-round TKO
victory via a flying knee. He stood up to the challenge of
Mateusz
Figlak and
George
McManus in subsequent bouts, notching a technical submission
via rear-naked choke and TKO against the respective opponents. With
two more impressive finishes over Lawrence
Jordan
Tracey and
Rostem
Akman, Garry was already turning heads and knocking on the
doors of the UFC.
First taste at Championship Gold
Garry’s maiden championship conquest was against
Jack Grant at
Cage Warriors 125. The Irishman displayed crisp striking to batter
Grant and inflict damage. When the fight hit the canvas, Garry
stepped up to the plate and even attempted multiple submissions and
passed the test of scrambles with flying colors. With this dominant
victory and the Cage Warriors welterweight championship on his
waist, he punched his ticket to the UFC.
A UFC Debut Worth Remembering
Garry faced
Jordan
Williams at UFC 268 to mark his Octagon debut. His standup game
and toughness were tested once again. Williams, recognizing that he
was walking a tightrope in the UFC having lost his first two bouts
in the promotion, approached the fight with a make-or-break
mentality. He stood in the center of the Octagon with the Irish
striker, countering Garry’s leg kicks and strikes with jabs and a
powerful left hand. However, the offense failed to make a decisive
impact as Garry continued to press forward and throw strikes of his
own.
Towards the end of the first round, Garry had found his range, even
managing to wobble the challenger with a counter-right punch that
opened up when Williams overextended for a labored punch. Garry
couldn’t have asked for a better debut than a first-round
knockout.
The Next "Mystic Mac?"
What made
Conor
McGregor the most popular star on the UFC roster was his
ability to breathe life into a prediction, and the moniker of
“Mystic Mac” followed suit. It can be argued that Garry has the
same innate ability to weave his vision into existence.
Locking horns against
Daniel
Rodriguez on May. 13, 2023, Garry took the center of the
octagon as soon as the bout commenced and kept landing on Rodriguez
at will. Midway through the first round, “The Future” stunned his
opponent with a thunderous right head kick and followed up with
vicious ground-and-pound as the referee intervened to call an end
to the fight at 2:57 of the first round.
As if that weren’t enough, a video of Garry calling the defining
moment of the fight spot-on went viral on social media. He quickly
became the subject of everyone’s interest and it’s safe to say
several fighters on the roster fancied a crack at the Irishman.
A Polarizing Triumph
Ian
Garry painted
Neil Magny as
an abusive father ahead of their clash at UFC 292. For context,
Magny, during the pre-fight media scrum, claimed that he plans on
dispensing a father-like “ass whooping” on Garry. The Irishman
seemingly made a mountain out of a molehill according to many and
preserved the wrath for the impending clash.
Garry dealt crippling blows to Magny’s legs early on which
compromised his opponent’s movement for the rest of the fight.
Having pulled the rug from under, Garry followed up by attacking
the breadbasket and his opponent’s dome. The methodical demolition
led to a unanimous decision victory for Garry and his sixth
straight in the UFC. The 26-year-old was exposed to a fusillade of
verbal onslaught from fans, but despite that, held firm to his
assessment of the pre-fight comments by Magny.