Despite having plenty of steam behind him, Ian Garry doesn’t want to get fast-tracked.
The 24-year-old charismatic Irish fighter doesn’t lack confidence, and just like his idol Conor McGregor during his meteoric rise, he has seemingly his whole country behind him. Garry made his UFC debut on the biggest stage possible, when he scored a first-round knockout over Jordan Williams at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“The Future” has vocalized his intentions of taking over the sport on numerous occasions, and although he already has a significant promotional push, Garry (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) wants to take his time as he climbs his way up the welterweight ranks.
“I don’t want this fast rise to the top,” Garry told ESPN. “I’m not looking for a couple of fights, get a world title and get out. I’m looking to beat the sh*t out of people. I want to get in there and prove and leave. You know when people are saying, ‘Oh he jumped the ladder, he skipped a couple’ – I never want that.
“I want to earn every single step so that when I get to that belt, when I get to that title shot and when I do win the title, that not one person on the planet can say, ‘Oh well, he didn’t fight this guy,’ or, ‘He didn’t do this. He can talk the talk. He’s Irish. He jumped the queue.’”
Garry, an unbeaten former Cage Warriors champion, recently made the move to Sanford MMA in Florida, where he’s training alongside former UFC title challengers Michael Chandler and Gilbert Burns. He’s hoping for an active 2022 and is ready to take on any and everyone in his way.
“I’m going to take my time,” Garry said. “I’m 24 years of age. I want to fight three times a year, every year, and I want to grow, and I want to beat people up and let them know that I’m here and I’m here to take over. I’m not here to let anyone pass. I’m going to take every single guy that I can on my rise to the top, and I’m going to dominate. I don’t care if it takes me four, five years to get to that belt. I don’t care if it takes me one. I am on my path. Whatever way it works is whatever way it works. A slow grind is my way.”
Rising UFC star Ian Garry not looking to jump the ladder: ‘I want to earn every single step’
