Ian Machado Garry has reflected on the sole defeat of his professional career as he attempts to become the first man in the UFC to defeat Brazilian buzzsaw Carlos Prates in this weekend’s UFC main event in Kansas City.
Dubliner Garry was defeated by unanimous decision by the still-undefeated Kazakh Shavkat Rakhmonov late last year in a fight he accepted on short notice to replace world champion Belal Muhammad, who withdrew from the originally scheduled contest after revealing details of a foot injury.
But despite the loss putting a temporary road block on his aspirations of one day claiming the UFC welterweight title, Garry has said that the nature of his loss hasn’t affected him and has instead lit a fire under him as he prepares to deal with the stand-up threat of Prates late on Saturday night.
“The ego in me doesn’t like to admit that my hand never got raised,” Garry said, via Sports Illustrated. “I still feel like, to this day, I didn’t lose that fight. He was gasping for air, grateful the fight was over. I was ready for more.”
“The biggest emotion after that fight was joy. I was so proud and happy that I’d take a fight against the scariest man in the division on short notice, show up and put on a performance like that. I learned from the Shavkat fight that I am absolutely destined to be the best in the world, to be the champion. And, there will be a time where we will face off again, and I will prove to the world that I am the better fighter.”
In order for that prediction to come true, in the short term at least, Garry will need to score a victory this weekend — and preferably an impressive one. He recently spoke of his frustration at being overlooked for a title bout with Muhammad after Rakhmonov was this time forced to pull out of their scheduled title fight, with that opportunity instead going to Jack Della Maddalena.
However, it stands to reason that Garry could receive a title bout late this year or early next if the division continues to move at a reasonable pace. Either way, we will know a lot more by Sunday morning
