Ian Garry faced his toughest test yet when he took on welterweight mainstay Neil Magny at UFC 292. Despite Magny being his ticket to the Top 10, Garry dominated on the night. However, despite the Irishman’s performance, not everyone was completely impressed.
Coming into the fight, there was a lot of trash talk between Garry and Magny. For the most part, Ian was unhappy with Magny’s comments during media day. As it turns out, Garry seemed to carry that grudge when he took on ‘The Haititan Sensation’ at UFC 292. Chopping Magny up with some devastating leg kicks, Ian made a meal out of the veteran.
STILL UNDEFEATED!@iangarryMMA takes a dominant victory over Neil Magny at #UFC292 pic.twitter.com/j8uuPgELS7
— UFC (@ufc) August 20, 2023
As such, Garry would eventually go on to secure a dominant unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-24). On the night, ‘The Future’ did everything but secure the finish. However, color commentator Joe Rogan was not particularly happy when Garry smushed Magny into the fence, but had his arm outside the Octagon. Notably, referee Keith Peterson warned the 25-year-old of the same in Round 1. Here, Ian tried to convince the judge that his arm was up in the air instead.
According to rules, when up against the cage, fighters are not allowed to hold or put their arm outside the Octagon. Doing so allows them an unfair advantage over their opponent in that position. As such, referee Keith Peterson likely warned Garry of the same. Whilst some may think that it may have been deliberate, it could well have been totally unintentional. Either way, commentator Daniel Cormier believes that Ian’s coaches should work on the issue.
Ian Garry wants to take on Stephen Thompson next
Despite putting his arm outside the Octagon, many believe that it did not critically alter the direction of the fight. For the most part, Garry chopped down Magny with leg kicks on numerous occasions. Notably, Garry had two knockdowns via calf kicks in the first 30 seconds of the fight. In the absolute beating that followed, Garry also managed to land a standing-high-up kick on his opponent as well.
During the fight, Ian had Magny hobbling and without a mouthpiece at times as well. In the brutal drubbing, it was not long before Joe Rogan pointed out that Neil was in “survival mode”. In totality, Garry landed 43 kicks in comparison to a timid 10 by Magny. In what was a dominant striking performance, the Irish prospect totally outclassed his opponent.
Following the fight, Ian shared his thoughts on the fight with Rogan. Having broken into the welterweight top 10 with his victory, Garry chose to call out his next opponent. “This breaks me into the UFC top 10,” Garry said. “I’m 25 years of age. I need to prove myself as the best striker in the division has ever seen. To be the best striker in the world, you need to beat the best strikers in the world. Give me Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.”
Interestingly, Wonderboy was recently left without a fight at UFC 291. However, he will be licking his lips at the video of taking on someone like Ian Garry. Often hailed as one of the best strikers in the division, Thompson may not be the force he once was. Despite that, fans will o doubt be very keen to see how a potential fight between the two plays out.