While Sean O’Malley and his knockout win to secure the bantamweight title stole the show at UFC 292, Ian Garry had an impressive performance that may be flying under the radar just a bit. Garry has been one of the more promising prospects in the UFC’s welterweight division, and showed exactly why with his unanimous decision win over Neil Magny last night (Sat. August 19, 2023). The Irishman put on a striking clinic against the longtime UFC veteran, even at one point nearly finishing the fight with leg kicks that seriously compromised Magny’s lead leg.
However, Magny was able to survive until the final horn, giving Garry a lopsided decision victory to keep his mixed martial arts (MMA) record unblemished at 13-0.
After the fight, Garry called out the likes of former welterweight title challenger Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson to meet him inside the Octagon. It appears that UFC brass liked that idea well enough to make the phone call to Thompson as the event was still going on.
During the UFC 292 post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White was asked if he’d be interested in pairing up Garry and Thompson inside the Octagon opposite each other next.
The UFC boss admitted that the promotion reached out to Thompson last night after Garry’s win and the former 170-pound title challenger declined. “Wonderboy turned the fight down tonight,” White said firmly, seemingly putting an end to that discussion for the time being.
40-year-old Thompson is currently the No. 7-ranked welterweight in the UFC. He recently snapped a two-fight losing skid by finishing Kevin Holland via TKO back in December.
Thompson was previously scheduled to face off against Michel Pereira at UFC 291 last month, but the fight was called off after Pereira failed to make weight. It will be interesting to see who both Garry and Thompson are matched up with next in their respective returns to the Octagon. Even if not against one another.
https://www.mmaweekly.com/ufcnews/dana-white-claims-wonderboy-already-turned-down-fight-with-ian-garry