Ian
Garry is no stranger to criticism these days, and that was once
again the case following his latest triumph.
Advertisement
Before Garry took the podium at the
UFC 298 post-fight press conference, UFC CEO Dana White was
asked by a media member about what was perceived to be a “listless”
performance from the Irishman in a split-decision triumph against
Geoff
Neal at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, on Saturday
night. As it turns out, Garry had just entered the venue when the
question was posed.
“Hey Ian, this guy thinks your fight sucked tonight,” White yelled
toward Garry. “He wants to know my opinion on your fight sucking
tonight “ … To say that his fight wasn’t a good fight, it might not
have been a great fight compared to the rest of the night with the
card … Did Ian go on and put on an unbelievable performance
tonight, like a knockdown drag-out war and win the fight? It wasn’t
Whittaker-Costa, but he won the fight.”
Shortly thereafter, Garry himself as able to address the critiques
of his performance for a fight that drew boos from those in
attendance.
“Firstly, that’s ridiculous,” Garry said. “What was listless about
it in your point of view? Footwork, speed, elusivity. If Geoff Neal
was running at you swinging bombs, what would you do? You’d f—-ing
run. That dude hits like a truck. My job is to make him miss and to
counter. My job is to upset his rhythm, upset his footwork and find
avenues to take advantage of his mistakes.
“That was the best Geoff Neal
we’ve seen today. He wasn’t biting on feints, he didn’t bite on
reactions as well as he normally does. And he hits like a truck,”
Garry continued. “The truth is he slowed the fight down and
grappled because he wasn’t happy with the striking he was having.
He slowed the fight down and tried to grapple and take me down —
another person who couldn’t. My speed and my accuracy and my
footwork, it just tricks people. They’re just on the end of my
rope, and I just pull them in and I just take advantage of them.
Say what you want, have whatever opinion you want, my hand got
raised. I’m breaking records again, I’m doing what I do and I’m
still not done. I’ve got so much time to go.”
Later, Garry admitted that he wasn’t able to execute everything as
smoothly as he might have liked, but that was due in part to his
respect for the power of his opponent.
“I am my harshest critic. I will go back and watch the fight,” he
said. “I wish I was able to set up a bit more kicks and make the
fluidity of the combinations what I normally see. The truth is, if
you crack Geoff Neal or
you take an inch too much, he’s gonna put you unconscious. You have
to respect that. There isn’t many people in the welterweight
division that possess the power he has in that hand. You’ve got to
respect that and give it the time it deserves and find that way to
find that success.”
Garry also pointed out that winning a slugfest doesn’t necessarily
align with his overall plans.
“I want to be active, I want to continue to fight,” he said. “If I
go out and let Geoff Neal
hit me 40 times, chances are I’m not going to be able to turn
around very quickly. I can [now]. Give me two or three weeks off…
and then we’ll try to book that Colby [Covington] date next.”
While Garry is adamant in his desire for a date against the
controversial Covington, it isn’t because he beleives that’s the
fight will propel him to a title shot. Instead, the Irish standout
wants to take the proper steps before a championship opportunity is
achieved.
“I want to earn it. I really want to earn it so that people don’t
say it’s listless and it’s undeserved,” Garry said. “For me, I
never want that on my career. That’s my third Top 15 guy. I’m gonna
go out there and beat Colby
Covington like we’ve never seen before. Then I want a Top 3
opponent, someone whose in that title contention. The truth is,
Colby’s biggest claim to fame is he’s fought for three world titles
and he’s lost all three. He’s not as good as people think he
is.
“I promise you, I will end that fight, I will finish that fight and
I will rid the UFC of Colby
Covington once and for all. He will be gone. I’m sick of his
nonsense. He’s a piece of s—t.”