Ian Garry's stunning first-round KO in his UFC debut inspired Conor McGregor to double down on his recovery efforts.
'The Notorious' has been out of action since suffering a horrific broken leg injury while facing Dustin Poirier in July 2021. The Dubliner has been on the shelf since then, with a return touted for the summer of 2023 at the earliest.
Garry made his UFC debut just a few months after McGregor broke his leg. In his first fight in the UFC, Garry Knocked out Jordan Williams inside one round. The Portmarnock man has now revealed that McGregor reached out after the fight and said that he was inspired by Garry's performance.
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“Conor reached out to me and he sent me a message saying thank you for giving me so much inspiration in a time where he was injured, and I thought that was really cool," said Garry.
"For my inspiration, the person who inspired me to follow my dreams. After winning with a round 1 knockout… for him to tell me that he was inspired by that and now he’s going to come back in that takeover Part Two.
"Yeah so that was, that was cool for me that was a fanboy moment for sure.
Since making his professional debut in 2019, the 25-year-old has gone from strength to strength winning his first 10 fights as a pro. Such a run of form has brought about comparisons to McGregor, who tore through the featherweight ranks on his way to winning UFC gold in 2015.
Garry however is purely focused on forging his own legacy.
"I’ve always been touted as the next Conor McGregor for ages. And the truth is I’m Ian Garry. I’m the future for a reason. I have an attitude that I’m going to be the best.
"And I want to go out there and prove it, and I don’t think any baton needs to be passed. Conor McGregor is Conor McGregor, and always will be the person who changed the UFC. And I just hope to go out there and have my name in the conversation of the greatest of all time.
"All I want is to have respect on my name as being one of the best fighters to ever enter the organisation. And I think I’m leading that right now."
*Ian Garry was talking to Fairbettingsites.co.uk
Homepage:https://fairbettingsites.co.uk
Interview: https://fairbettingsites.co.uk/blog/2022/12/09/exclusive-ian-garry-ufc-interview
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