Ian
Garry claims he has faced significantly steeper competition
than Islam
Makhachev has.
Garry (17-1) is scheduled to challenge Makhachev (28-1) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title at UFC
330 on Aug. 15 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The
Irish challenger recently compared their strength of schedule,
claiming that his recent run of form surpasses the Russian’s.
Advertisement
Ian Garry highlights size and skill difference between his
recent opponents and Islam Makhachev’s
Garry has faced Belal
Muhammad, Carlos
Prates, Shavkat
Rakhmonov, Michael
Page and Geoff Neal in
his last five outings, only losing to Rakhmonov. Meanwhile,
Makhachev has defended his lightweight title against Volkanovski
twice, Dustin
Poirier, and Renato
Carneiro, and dethroned Jack
Della Maddalena to win the welterweight title in his last five
bouts.
“The Future” believes Muhammad, Prates, Rakhmonov and Page are
among the trickiest fighters in the world. While he respects
Volkanovski and Poirier as legends, he doesn’t think they match up
to the level of opponents he’s faced. Garry, who’s a massive
underdog going into UFC 330, also notes that all of his recent
opponents were bigger and taller than Makhachev’s.
“If you look at my last five opponents versus Islam’s last five
opponents, in my opinion, it’s not a discussion about whose are
more difficult,” Garry told ESPN MMA. “When you look at who I
fought — Belal Muhammad, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Carlos Prates, MVP.
Those four are some of the trickiest fighters on the planet. All of
them present real, real danger. When you look at JDM, Renato
Moicano, Dustin Poirier and Volkanovski. As much as Volkanovski and
Dustin Poirier are legends of the sport, they’re not as dangerous
as the guys I’ve just mentioned. Not only that, every single one of
them is bigger and longer.”