UFC president Dana White ripped Ian Machado Garry following his performance against Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 330.
Machado Garry fought for his first UFC title against Makhachev during Saturday’s UFC 330 event in Philadelphia. But the fight did not go his way, as the champion retained his title via unanimous decision with 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 scorecards.
Although Machado Garry put up a competitive fight, ultimately it came down to Makhachev having more control time and landing a big head kick in the second round that sealed the win for him.
But White believes that the fight was still winnable for Machado Garry.
Following the fight, White criticized Machado Garry’s performance, as he felt that the Irishman didn’t let himself go.
Dana White Criticizes Ian Machado Garry
Speaking to reporters at the UFC 330 post-fight press conference, White shared his reaction to Machado Garry’s performance as the title challenger to Makhachev.
“I think that, and this is my honest opinion on it, I felt like tonight was set up for the upset. I felt like the upset could happen tonight with so much on the line tonight, and he’s going to break Anderson Silva’s record (for longest UFC win streak). There’s weight classes for a reason. Ian Garry is a big, strong, rangy guy who has great takedown defense. If you look at his takedown defense tonight against Islam, it was impressive,” White said.
“Ian is a talented guy, but if he had even an ounce of killer instinct in that third round. He was beating him to the body; Islam’s whole right side, his face, was beat up. You don’t come out, hug, and shake hands. That (expletive) drives me (expletive) crazy when there’s so much at stake. And there’s also a lot of mental gamesmanship in this game. You come out in that fifth round with a flying knee or something crazy, and you try to finish that fight.
“I think this is one of those fights where Ian says, ‘(Expletive) I wish I could do that over again.'”
Dana White Thinks Ian Machado Garry Is Too Nice
According to White, while Machado Garry is a classy person, he believes that he is too nice at times, and that it hurt him against Makhachev because he was not able to get into that second gear that he needed to get into to win the title.
“I think that Ian’s a classy guy, that’s what I think. He always shows class. Before the fight, he goes over and shakes all the corners’ hands. It’s great. But when that (expletive) bell rings, you gotta switch all that (expletive) off. You definitely gotta do it in the fifth round. He fought a great fight against Islam, who everyone in this room and everyone else is saying we might talk about as the GOAT. You don’t go shake the (expletive) GOAT’s hand before the fifth round. You come out to (expletive) annihilate him. That just has to be your mindset, in my humble opinion,” White said.
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