Garry came up short against Makhachev in the UFC 330 main event in Philadelphia, dropping a unanimous decision after a hard-fought five-round battle. The Russian retained the welterweight championship and extended his winning streak in the UFC to 17 straight victories, a new record. Nevertheless, the challenger is encouraged by his performance and what the future holds for him.
Ian Garry addresses UFC 330 loss and promises to come back stronger
Garry believes his performance against Makhachev showed that he belongs at the highest level of the sport.
“Tonight wasn’t my night,” Garry said on Instagram. “I feel great, I did great, Islam was just better than me tonight and that’s OK. I want everybody who loves me and supports me and wants to see me do better; I want you to know that I’m going to be back.”
The former Cage Warriors champ then emphasized that he’s yet to enter his prime and still pushed the No.1 pound-for-pound fighter to the limit.
“I’m not disheartened by this,” Garry continued. “I’m bulletproof in my mind. I’m 28 years of age; I just fought maybe the greatest fighter we’ve ever seen in this sport and I pushed him to the f*cking wire and I’m so proud of myself and I’m so proud of my team and everything that we’ve done. I’m so proud of what I’ve done in this world and who I’ve become. Nobody’s stopping me. Tonight was not my night.”
Garry then congratulated Makhachev before revealing his excitement in future matchups.
“Islam, your team, congratulations,” he added. “Your guys did amazing. I have nothing but love and respect for everything you guys have done in this sport; I said that to you. I’ll be back. There’s plenty of matchups in this sport, plenty of fun matchups that I’m excited for. We’ll be back and we’ll be better than ever. I love you all, let’s go, baby.”
The defeat marks just the second loss of Garry's career. He began his professional career 15-0, winning his first eight UFC bouts before suffering his first defeat against Shavkat Rakhmonov. Garry bounced back with wins over Belal Muhammad and Carlos Prates before earning his title shot.
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