Jump to
Ian Machado Garry had a breakout performance against Neil Magny at UFC 292 last Saturday in Boston, Massachusetts. He did everything but finish Magny, earning a unanimous decision and even getting a 30-24 score on one judge’s card.
Ian Machado Garry hyped himself big before UFC 292
A brash young Irishman, Garry spared no effort in promoting his UFC 292 bout in the week before the fight.
“I believe that I am carrying this 292 card on my back, and that if it wasn’t for me, this card would go down the drain,” Garry told Ariel Helwani. “I’m Irish. I’m fighting in Boston. They have a massive Irish contingent.
“I’m the superstar on the card. It happened in the last fight, it’s happening this fight, the wheels are in motion. I just have to show up and do my thing, and the world will see.”
Outrageous open workout at Irish pub went over big with fans
Garry’s most effective and outrageous move was holding his Friday night pre-fight workout at a pub in Boston before a big crowd of fans.
“The scene was actually pretty surreal as a hoard of crazed Irish fans invaded the local pub to see Garry hit mitts and deliver some last-minute chatter on the microphone,” wrote Dan Hiergesell.
Boston PD threatened Garry with arrest
“The policeman on shift came up to us beforehand. He said to my team when they were checking the barrow,” Garry related to Full Send MMA. ““He said, ‘If he steps outside on the streets and hits pads, I’m gonna arrest him and put them in jail overnight because of a riot law.’”
As you can see above, Garry followed instructions and kept the workout contained to the inside of the bar.
Twitter fan reaction mixed at best
Sportskeeda rounded up Twitter reactions to Garry’s promotional stunt and they were mixed at best.
There were unfavorable comparisons to Conor McGregor.
“Corny, Cringey, Try hard. Stop tryna be Conor”
“Do me a favour, stop trying to be like Conor. Just do your own thing. One sack from Ireland is enough. He embarrasses us enough for 5m people. Just work hard and win. You’ll get to the top.”
Paddy Pimblett:
“Careful you don’t go full pimblett”
“Paddy 2.0. No thanks”
And it got worse from there:
Courting controversy over Magny’s pre-fight gaffe
Things got better for Garry though when his opponent Neil Magny made some (at best) ill-considered pre-fight remarks about hitting kids and Garry capitalized without mercy and to full effect.
“There’s the whooping that you give somebody in high school or in grade school,” Magny explained to the attending media. “Was when, ‘He talkin’ about my mom!’ And you put a beating on him there. And there’s a whooping that you give your son, now. Like, to kinda teach him life, a little bit. Being a father, I’ve become quite accustomed to that kind of whooping now. That’s the kind of whooping I’m looking forward to giving [Ian Machado Garry] on Saturday.”
Garry was ready and handily won the war of words.
“I think Neil was given a f—king mic yesterday, and he should sit up here on this stage and say nothing,” Machado Garry said of his opponent (transcript via MMA Junkie). “He put his f—king foot in the dirt. If he speaks today, he’s digging a hole.
“Nobody is allowed to ask Neil Magny a question today. He’s to sit there and reflect on the s—t that he said, because what he said was f—king ridiculous. … We are tackling a very, very big f—king issue here, mate. He should sit there and f—king sit down, shut up, and reflect on what he said.”
Magny attempted to step in and defend himself, but was quickly run over by Machado Garry once again.
“No, no, no—Neil’s not answering a question,” Machado Garry continued. “He’s going to sit there, and he’s going to be f—king quiet. There is no f—king right to ever put your hand on a kid, ever—discipline, anything. He’s to sit there and be quiet.”
Join the new Bloody Elbow
Our Substack is where we feature the work of writers like Zach Arnold, John Nash and Karim Zidan. We’re fighting for the sport, the fighters and the fans. Please help us by subscribing today.
About the author
