"Conor wasn't as good as he thought he was" - Michael Chandler draws a parallel between Conor McGregor and Ian Garry
Michael Chandler believes Irish welterweight prospect Ian Garry will walk in the footsteps of Conor McGregor and one day have a world championship title wrapped around his waist. Chandler was all praise for Garry's impressive counter striking skills and compared his style to that of the former two-division UFC champion.
According to 'Iron', Garry has everything it would take to make a name for himself in the promotion. This includes an impressive physique, solid striking skillset and a confident persona. Chandler praised Garry for perfectly executing the pull and counter movement to pick up a knockout win in his UFC debut.
Comparing him to a younger version of Conor McGregor, Chandler said just like 'The Notorious', Garry will surprise people with incredible performances and will one day become champion. In his appearance on the DC & RC Show, Chandler said:
"I shared the card with him in my last fight, Ian Garry, 'The future'. Let me talk about the man's physical attributes because the only thing more impressive than the man's physical attributes is his confidence in himself. He is extremely long and tall, and powerful for the division as we said. He is still just a baby. He's under 25 years old and he won't become a full man until he's 30. His striking, his ability to negotiate distance between himself and his opponent, the way that he slid outside of that right hand in his last fight and knocked that dude in the last five seconds of that round was nothing short of amazing. As a lot of people said about Conor McGregor when he first came in, you see shades of Conor McGregor in Ian Garry. Conor wasn't as good as he thought he was but he was better than we all thought he was and I think that's how Ian Garry's going to be, I think we have a future champion on our hands."
Check out Michael Chandler's entire interview below:
Ian Garry proposes a second Irish takeover alongside Conor McGregor
Ian Garry burst onto the scene in his UFC debut by picking up a spectacular knockout victory over Jordan Williams at UFC 268. The knockout reminded fans of Conor McGregor's past performances inside the octagon.
"We're not here to take part, we're here to take over, and this is the takeover part 2."
@iangarryMMA 🤝 @TheNotoriousMMA
#UFC268
https://t.co/qA8sHYmPML
'The Notorious' himself praised Garry for the performance and said he was even more motivated to recover from his injury and get back inside the cage after watching 'The Future' fight.
Magic ☘️ https://t.co/ZeBTvp7NzD
Reacting to Conor McGregor's praise, Garry said he'd like to compete on the same card as the former double champ in Ireland.
"If he wants to join this takeover, we can do it again."
@iangarryMMA tells @arielhelwani "Ireland will explode" if you put him and @TheNotoriousMMA on a card together 🇮🇪 #TheMMAHour
▶️ youtu.be/ObXMtp4bl5c https://t.co/qKOInTf5nH
"I could feel that Conor felt motivated by what I had just said. He was saying, like, ‘I respect that so much,’ in a sense of like, ‘In my hardest time, I’m coming back from an injury, this has given me motivation.’ And he was like, ‘I’m part of that takeover too.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s get on it, Conor. Let’s get on it.’ Ireland will explode if you put me and him on a card together. So I’m in," Garry told Ariel Helwani on MMA Hour.
Watch Ian Garry's interview with Ariel Helwani on the The MMA hour, right here.