Conor McGregor was delighted by his countryman Ian Machado Garry’s return to the win column on Saturday night.
Dubliner Garry completely dominated Brazilian Carlos Prates in the main event of UFC Kansas City to get back to winning ways after his December defeat to Shavkat Rakhmonov. He is now the official back-up opponent for Belal Muhammad’s first world title defence against Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 315.
If McGregor ever is to return to the octagon he is expected to make his comeback at welterweight, the division where Garry and his ilk compete. Over the past four years without a fight, the Irishman has always kept tabs on the 170lb fold.
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Conor McGregor deletes reaction to Ian Machado Garry’s win at UFC Kansas City
One of the keen viewers on Saturday night’s UFC Kansas City main event was former two-weight world champion Conor McGregor. The Irishman has always been a major supporter of his countrymen when they fight in the famed octagon.
He has been a keen follower of Ian Machado Garry for years since his debut under the UFC banner at Madison Square Garden. The pair have trained together and shared meals in a mentorship situation over the years, and McGregor stayed up into the early hours of Sunday morning in Ireland to watch the fight.
Initially, McGregor had tweeted ‘Great Fight’ alongside emojis of the Brazilian and Irish flags as well as a love heart. However, within an hour he had taken that post down, similarly to how he quickly deleted a briefly live shot at Anthony Smith following his retirement from the sport in the co-main event.
Ian Machado Garry confirmed for UFC 315 world title back-up slot
Following his dominating victory over Prates, Ian Machado Garry immediately took to the microphone to call his shot. He believes that despite losing to Shavkat Rakhmonov in December, he was passed over for a title fight when the Kazakh star was ruled out of UFC 315 with an injury he had caused.
As a result, he is planning to get on a flight and travel to Montreal in two weeks after his five-round win in Kansas City. He will weigh in at the championship limit, and should either Muhammad or Della Maddalena miss weight or suffer an injury, he will fight for gold.
Dana White confirmed that Garry is the official back-up for UFC 315’s main event during his post-fight press conference.