Ian Machado Garry says the backlash to comments he made on being ‘too big’ for UFC Dublin ignored the realities of business and venues.
In the build-up to UFC 298, Ian Machado Garry made headlines by claiming he was too big and too popular to headline a UFC Dublin card in Ireland, which was met with decisively negative reactions online.
Speaking on The MMA Hour, the undefeated Irishman explained that the story was twisted out of context and that many fans simply didn’t understand the realities of headlining certain venues in his home country: “There isn’t a venue big enough to warrant putting on a show of that size.”
Ian Machado Garry addresses ‘controversial’ comments on UFC Ireland return
If there’s a lesson to be learned from Ian Machado Garry’s life online over the past six months, it’s that we are far too quick to jump on a headline and tend to ignore the realities of the business in favor of more Hollywood-esque storylines.
On Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour, the 26-year-old explained to Ariel Helwani that it’s not that he doesn’t want to headline a UFC card in Ireland, it’s that the current offering of venues doesn’t have the capacity to meet the promotions demands.
“Here’s the truth, the biggest star in the sport is Conor McGregor and Conor McGregor hasn’t returned to Ireland since he done everything that he did, why not? Because there isn’t a venue big enough to warrant putting on a show in Ireland for that size, that capacity, that money, that turnover.”
Garry admitted that getting the UFC to return to Ireland comes down to “more than just a want and a will”, with the 3Arena’s capacity crowd of 13,000 people (9,000 when seated) simply not meriting the resources needed to host such a marquee event.
“It’s logistics, it’s how are we going to make that happen, is it beneficial for us as a company? I want the UFC back to Dublin, and that’s still a dream of mine. To be the guy that brought them back.”
The undefeated welterweight earned himself a split decision win over Geoff Neal on the main card of UFC 298 in undoubtedly the biggest win of his fledgling career to date, albeit far from his most impressive.
Garry was unusually lackluster in certain moments of the fight as he picked at the American from distance with kicks and single-shot punches, but still had enough output and damage to sway the judges in his favor.
With the brash Irishman liking to call his shots, the 26-year-old took the chance to name former champion Colby Covington in his post-fight interviews as his next potential opponent.
“There’s one guy I want next, and I’ve been saying his name all week… his name is Colby Covington. That guy is on a three-fight skid against world champions, and I want to retire you from the UFC.”
Speaking to media after the PPV event, Garry explained “The truth is, I call out who I want. Colby is the biggest name in the division without a title – going out and beating him does so much.”