The UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov has one of the most impressive resumes in MMA with 29 wins and 0 losses. Because of Dagestani’s sheer dominance and performance inside the octagon, he has become a benchmark for the upcoming fighters. A rising Irish welterweight star gave backing to it in an interview with famous MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. The fighter, who is the ‘best mate’ of the UFC superstar Conor McGregor, recently equaled a milestone of ‘The Eagle’. Considering his achievement, he compared himself with Nurmagomedov and also announced himself as the new generation of combat sports.
During his unbeaten career, ‘The Eagle’ has set many records. One of them was defeating Edson Barboza by a 30-24 score back in 2017. Irish fighter Ian Garry matched the record by dominating Neil Magny by 30-24 in his last fight at UFC 292.
With such a performance, the Irish mixed martial artist has the entire welterweight division on notice, and he is aware of the hype surrounding him.
Ian Garry compares himself with Khabib Nurmagomedov
‘The Future’ aka Ian Garry recently appeared on the latest episode of MMA Hour, where he extensively talked about the journey and progress of his career.
During their conversation, ‘The Future’ exuded self-confidence and backed his abilities as an exceptional welterweight fighter. Additionally, Garry shared that he has equaled both Kamaru Usman’s and Khabib Nurmagomedov’s records. For this reason, Ian Garry implied that he was a torchbearer of the new generation. He said:
“I’m doing everything I said I’m gonna do. I’m the second-ever welterweight to go 6-0 in the UFC, me and [Kamaru] Usman. I’ve just come off a historic scorecard in the 30-24, the last time we seen that was Khabib [Nurmagomedov] vs. [Edson] Barboza. The levels, the names you have to put me in the brackets with them now is stuff that we haven’t seen. I’m a new generation of this sport.“
The rising Irish fighter has not yet faced a defeat in the UFC since signing for them back in 2021. He has won a total of six UFC fights and half of them have come via a finish. Thus, it appears that Garry is on the right track to becoming the next big thing in the UFC.
Moreover, his Irishman compatriot ex-UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor, who laid the foundation for Irish fighters in UFC, is also playing a pivotal role in propelling Garry’s career.
McGregor and Garry’s Irish connection
Due to his achievements, the Irishman Conor McGregor has become an inspiration for fighters in MMA and Garry is one of them. Garry took the opportunity to develop a great bond of friendship with his idol after joining the UFC.
Recently, ‘The Future’ during the same interview with Ariel Helwani revealed that he is ‘Best Mates‘ with McGregor. His statement follows up on the sparring session the Irish duo had a couple of days ago when Garry got the chance to train with his idol.
‘The Notorious’ has always maintained a positive influence on people in his inner circle by helping them in their careers. Thus, it will be interesting to witness how McGregor will influence the Future’s career going forward.
