5 Things You Might Not Know About Ian Garry

Ian Garry’s first act was enough to get everyone’s attention. Now comes the encore.

The undefeated Irish prospect will take his second Ultimate Fighting Championship assignment when he meets Darian Weeks in a UFC 273 welterweight feature on Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Garry, 24, carries a perfect 8-0 record into the Octagon. He last appeared at UFC 268, where he dazzled in his promotional debut and punched out Jordan Williams with one second left in the first round of their Nov. 6 pairing.

As Garry focuses his attention on the once-beaten Weeks, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Peer reviews keep him on his toes.

Garry operates out of the powerhouse Sanford MMA camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida, where he trains under Henri Hooft and sharpens his skills alongside a host of world-class competitors, including Vicente Luque, Gilbert Burns, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and onetime Bellator MMA welterweight titleholder Rory MacDonald.

2. He has stubbed his toe before.

“The Future” may be undefeated through his first eight professional appearances, but he did suffer one loss as an amateur. Garry wound up on the wrong side of a split decision against Andreeas Binder at Clan Wars 31 in March 2018.

3. His handlers chose the baptism-by-fire approach.

Garry was not eased into his pro career. He debuted inside the Cage Warriors Fighting Championship organization at the age of 21, as he took a unanimous decision from James Sheehan at Cage Warriors 101 on Feb. 16, 2019. Garry stayed with the England-based promotion until he signed with the UFC in 2021.

4. Championship gold has not eluded him.

The Dublin native remains one of only 13 men who have held the Cage Warriors welterweight title. Adrian Degorski, Elhamy Elsebaey, Dan Hardy, Forrest Petz, Pascal Krauss, Gael Grimaud, Cathal Pendred, Nicolas Dalby, Karl Amoussou, Stefano Paterno, Ross Houston and Mason Jones are the others.

5. He prefers avoiding the judges.

Garry, who holds the rank of black belt in judo, has delivered six of his eight victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission. The lone outliers? His aforementioned encounter with Sheehan and a five-round unanimous decision over Jack Grant at Cage Warriors 125 that brought with it the company’s welterweight crown in June 2021. BetUS.com is offering our listeners an incredible 125% bonus on their deposit for UFC 273. Use code SHERDOG and get $2,500 in extra money to make fight night even better.