UFC fighters react to Ryan Garcia’s unbelievable underdog victory over Devin Haney, with some even calling the boxing fight “poetic comedy” at its finest.
The combat sports world is rocking to the beat of ‘King Ry’ this morning, with the budding superstar earning one of the biggest and most dramatic underdog upsets in recent boxing memory.
Ryan Garcia stuns the boxing world with victory over Devin Haney
Heading into this weekend’s super-fight between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, there were calls to remove Garcia from the contest after a string of strange social media posts and media interactions left fans concerned for his welfare.
Whether the entire pre-fight build-up was a rouse to get Haney to underestimate his commitment or simply part and parcel of having a 25-year-old in such a bright (and lucrative) spotlight, we’ll never know.
What we do know is that Garcia put on a truly remarkable performance and deserves all the credit in the world for knocking Devin Haney to the canvas on three separate occasions en route to one of the most dramatic victories of the year.
UFC fighters react to Ryan Garcia’s decision win against Haney
With no UFC event this weekend, the eyes of the combat sports world were firmly fixed on the Barclays Center in New York for one of the most dramatic underdog wins in recent boxing memory.
Given both the controversial pre-fight build-up and the tens of millions of dollars on the line, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to see that UFC fighters past and present were dialed into the contest.
“Ryan Garcia! This is actually poetic comedy. Is he legit “off” Or is it all a show? His skills are different than typical boxers but it works for him,” said former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, who also added: “This is a pretty impressive showing against a fundamentally sound Haney.”
“Man, analyst acting like Ryan Garcia lost that fight. 3 knockdowns and two wobbles… these dudes talking crazy man like Ryan 3 weeks ago,” said Josh Thompson, stating “He won that fight from beginning to end.”
Fan favorite bantamweight Marlon Vera also noted that “Fighting narrative is crazy” since even just a few hours before the opening bell, “Ryan is crazy, Ryan isn’t in shape, Ryan on d****, Ryan a troll, he won I only see wow what a performance… Fighting is so mental, was great fight, at the end all is an opinion, have one.”
Conor McGregor sends Garcia message of support after stunning win
One UFC fighter who was particularly impressed with Garcia’s performance was the one-and-only Conor McGregor, with ‘Notorious’ posting a rather unusual message of support to ‘King Ry’ in the aftermath of his majority decision win.
“Well in Garcia. An amazing fight from two champions! Some are just born to fight! Some aren’t… God speed to both men and teams in this crazy world and congrats Ryan Garcia! Tonight is your night…A win or a loss will never make or break a person to me.”
McGregor then said that victory over Haney doesn’t mean that Garcia’s issues outside of the boxing ring are over, with the brash Irishman noting that “Now the real fight happens for the young man, too!”
“Stay strong kid, believe in the Lord’s guidance and keep it tight like frogs a** in Versace lad hahaha yes! Well in! Jesus is King so don’t go against what he tells you personally and internally. Keep it right and good luck lil’ bro.”
McGregor himself is preparing for his long-awaited return to the octagon against fan-favorite Michael Chandler on June 29th, with the bout scheduled for five five-minute rounds at 170lbs.
Bloody Elbow recently spoke to PFL superstar Brendan Loughnane about training with McGregor at his secret camp in Dubai ahead of the International Fight Week PPV showstopper against Chandler.