15-0 welterweight contender Ian Garry is preparing for the biggest fight of his professional career at UFC 310; when he faces fellow undefeated phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Despite having the Kazakh firmly in his sights, the brash Irishman has been teasing that he could soon find himself fighting at 185lbs – and there’s another undefeated phenom who he’d love to silence.
Ian Garry goads Khamzat Chimaev after ‘skinny kid’ comments
Speaking to Ariel Helwani earlier this week, Ian Machado Garry would reveal his plan to defeat Rakhmonov this weekend, capture the welterweight title, and then move up to middleweight in order to face Khamzat Chimaev.
“My ideal scenario is I fight, I beat Shavkat and win the title. Then I go up to middleweight and then fight Khamzat. I’ll be able to win that belt too. I’m not afraid of any man.”
Those comments didn’t sit too well with ‘Borz’, who took to X to tease that Ian Garry was ‘too skinny’ to match the physicality he brings to the octagon: “You’re too skinny kid, don’t go near the Wolf’s teeth, you’ll end up headless.”
As part of the promotional side of UFC 310, Garry would sit down with UFC Europe to give his ‘immediate thoughts’ on various top contenders in and around his weight class.
Unsurprisingly, when it came to Khamzat Chimaev, ‘The Future’ was keen to drive home the point that it’ll be on the dominant wrestler to put his money where his mouth is.
“Khamzat Chimaev [is] someone who one day, I want to take his 0 too. ‘You’re too skinny kid, don’t go near the Wolf’s teeth or end up headless’ – Okay, well then when the time comes, be ready to back it up.”
Allegedly, Ian Garry and Chimaev almost became involved in a physical confrontation a few years ago, although neither man was willing to ‘back it up’ back then.
Ian Garry and Khamzat Chimaev once almost brawled in elevator
“That fight is going to happen one day,” Garry previously stated in an interview with ‘MMA On Point’, revealing that he almost once came to physical blows with Chimaev when the two found themselves in the same elevator.
“We got in the elevator, and me and my wife are standing there, press the button, doors open, Khamzat and his missus… I’d love to have a fight here. I’d love to just swing hands with Khamzat in the middle of an elevator, the stories would’ve been f****** cool.
“My missus is looking at me with eyes popped out of her f******* skull and she’s like, do it, have a fight with him. In my head, I’m thinking my teammates about to fight him tomorrow. I’m not f***** ruining that.”
Ian Garry claimed that he decided against trying to provoke Chimaev partly due to the fact that both of their partners were alongside – although Mrs Machado Garry might have been willing to get involved herself by the sounds of it.
“There’s two f****** women in here. Me and him are gonna go to the death if we fight in an elevator… We step out the lift and my wife just looks at me and goes, ‘You’re a p****’.”
UFC 310 goes down this weekend live from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Ian Machado Garry vs Shavkat Rakhmonov is the co-main event of the evening and is scheduled for five, five-minute rounds.