UFC welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry spoke about the comparisons made to fellow Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
Machado Garry takes on Islam Makhachev for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 330, which takes place on August 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It will be the biggest fight of Machado Garry’s UFC career to date, as he looks to take out the consensus No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport.
To Machado Garry, his fight against Makhachev draws parallels to when McGregor fought UFC great Jose Aldo at UFC 194 in December 2015, in a fight that he was supposed to lose against a pound-for-pound great, yet came out with the win when he KOed Aldo in just 13 seconds.
Ian Garry Comments on Conor McGregor Comparisons
Speaking to High Performance in a recent interview, Machado Garry spoke about the comparisons that fans and media have made between him and McGregor, Ireland’s biggest MMA superstar ever.
“My whole career, I’ve had a lot of expectations. I’ve had a lot of pressure from the outside world, from the fans and the sport itself to be this star to live up to the hype that Conor McGregor set, being from Dublin. I’ve had a lot of comparisons to Conor, due to the fact that we’re both from Dublin, we’re both from Ireland, we both talk the talk, we both walk the walk, but we will fight anyone on the planet,” Machado Garry said (via MMAFighting.com).
“And that’s nothing to do with me, but everything to do with people comparing me to him. When Conor fought for his first UFC world title, he fought the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter, who hadn’t been beaten for a decade, and he knocked him out in 13 seconds. I cannot wait to step into the octagon against Islam and beat him, because there will be no doubt that I have done it against the best. To be the best, you have to beat the best. And my next opponent right now is regarded by everyone in the world as the No. 1-ranked pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. Make no excuses. There will be no doubt after the fight. I just want it to be known that Ian Machado Garry is great.”
Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry Odds
According to the latest betting odds for Makhachev vs. Machado Garry, the champ is a -300 favorite to win, while the challenger is a +250 underdog.
Given that Makhachev has won 16 fights in a row, it makes total sense that he would be the favorite to win this fight. After all, he is the consensus No. 1 P4P fighter in MMA.
But Machado Garry does present some unique challenges for Makhachev as he is one of the biggest, longest, and tallest opponents whom he has fought yet during his MMA career. Plus, Machado Garry has been on a roll lately, having beaten Carlos Prates and Belal Muhammad in his last two fights.
We’ll soon find out how this fight plays out, but expect to hear many McGregor comparisons in the lead-up to it, and especially in the aftermath if Machado Garry is somehow able to pull off the upset.
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