Ian Garry claps back at critics of Conor McGregor's UFC 303 withdrawal: "Go f*** themselves. It’s not your life"
Conor McGregor appeared set to make his highly-anticipated return to the octagon against Michael Chandler in the main event of UFC 303 this weekend. A broken toe, however, forced 'The Notorious' to withdraw from the bout leading to plenty of criticism. Ian Garry, who is set to face Michael 'Venom' Page on the main card, came to the defense of his fellow Irishman.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani of The MMA Hour, the No.7-ranked welterweight stated:
"Go f**k themselves. It's not your life. Who are we to say that Conor should do something? If he broke his toe, which is what he said he's done, who the f**k are we to tell him to fight? By the way, can we just say this man has broken every record in the game? Owns every pay-per-view record, first two-time world champion, arguably the greatest to ever do it from a point of view of bringing in an audience to the sport."
Garry continued:
"Not only bringing in an audience, engaging the entire world in knowing his name, putting on the biggest shows, the media tours. Anything Conor does is 100 times bigger than anything anyone else in the UFC can do. He's that superstar. He's a mega star. He's transcended the game of MMA. If he's had to pull out, there is no one on the planet more upset than him."
Check out Ian Garry's full comments on Conor McGregor's withdrawal from UFC 303 below:
Garry claimed that anyone taking shots at McGregor is simply attempting to stay relevant due to his massive star power. He expressed his excitement for the former double champ's eventual return to the octagon. While there is no official timeline of when 'The Notorious' will fight, he has expressed that he would like to return in August or September.
Conor McGregor discusses decision to withdraw from UFC 303
After his highly-anticipated bout with Michael Chandler was called off due to a broken toe, Conor McGregor revealed his reason for withdrawing from UFC 303. During a recent appearance at Bellator Dublin, the former double champ stated:
"I've made the walk a few times under similar circumstances and for what? Okay, if I was in a different part of my career and as I have done, as I've proven, I've made the walk. I've taken those chances and then at times where I probably could've just taken a little postponement, a little bit, and give the fans what they deserve. The fans don't deserve to see the fighters walk in there hindered and then hear about it after."
Check out Conor McGregor's explanation for withdrawal from UFC 303 below:
McGregor added that the injury was caused by a lapse of concentration in training. He did, however, promise that he would be 100% in his return to the octagon. 'The Notorious' has not competed since breaking his leg when he faced Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 in July 2021.