Conor McGregor has long been known as the greatest Irish MMA fighter in history, but he may have some competition.
The legendary two-weight world champion is the only person from Ireland to even fight for the belt, much less win it multiple times over. But he is being chased for legacy by Ian Machado Garry, the top ten-ranked welterweight who defeated Michael ‘Venom’ Page last night.
And Garry took a big step towards that at UFC 303 with his latest win, bringing his undefeated record to 15-0. He already followed in his idol’s footsteps by winning Cage Warriors gold, and is now ahead of where McGregor ever was as a contender before winning UFC gold in 2015.
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Ian Machado Garry breaks Conor McGregor’s long-standing UFC record
Garry’s victory over MVP at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas was his eighth under the UFC banner, and 15th overall. After a lengthy amateur career, the Irishman went 7-0 in Cage Warriors, including winning their welterweight belt, before signing with MMA’s top promotion in 2021.
And Irish MMA statistician Andy Hickey noted on social media today that Garry’s victory gave him the longest win streak for an Irish fighter in the promotion. McGregor won seven in a row before being beaten by Nate Diaz at UFC 196, including two featherweight title wins over Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes.
Those wins started with a victory over Marcus Brimmage in his debut, before a win over future great Max Holloway that saw him forced out with injury. He returned by beating Diego Brandao in an historic Dublin homecoming before knocking out Dustin Poirier and Denis Siver.
After that, he was due to face Aldo for the belt at UFC 189, but when the Brazilian was made to pull out after suffering a rib injury, he was replaced by Mendes. McGregor knocked him out in the second round, and he eventually dethroned Aldo at UFC 194, before losing a late-notice fight with Diaz.
Garry has taken a slower route to the top of the welterweight division, taking incremental steps up in ranking over his three year stint. He debuted against Jordan Williams, before beating Darian Weeks and Gabe Green in his first three bouts.
He then made a step up to face Kenan Song, who dropped him with a big shot before eventually succumbing to a third round TKO. Garry then stopped Daniel Rodriguez in the first round before a series of grudge fights with Neil Magny and Geoff Neal which he won by decision before facing MVP.
Ian Machado Garry plans to become one of the greatest of all time
Part of what makes Garry such a divisive character is his incredible self-confidence, which is perceived as cockiness by fans. And speaking at last night’s post-fight press conference, he continued speaking up about his potential, claiming that he plans to eventually enter the UFC’s ‘GOAT’ conversation.
“I am on my road to destiny to be one of the greatest of all time,” Garry said. “I’m going to do that by any means necessary, and I don’t care how it gets done. In 10 years’ time, my name is going to be in that GOAT conversation.
“Who’s the greatest of all time? You’re going to say Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva, Ian Machado Garry. I’m going to have my name in that conversation because it’s opinion based.
“If you’re Brazilian, you’ll say Anderson Silva. If you’re American, you might say Jon Jones. We could all sit here and have all of our opinions. As long as my name is in that conversation, I’ve had a successful career.”
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