WATCH: Ian Garry fends off aggressive fan in parking lot drama after UFC 285
UFC welterweight Ian Garry's fight night experience at UFC 285 was not limited to just one opponent inside the octagon. Garry had to fend off a second challenger after his victory over Kenan Song in the early prelims.
Garry donned a tuxedo shirt and a black bow tie in celebration of his fourth straight victory in the UFC as he made his way to the post-fight press conference. In what seemed like the parking lot, Garry and his entourage were confronted by a man for unknown reasons.
A video uploaded to Twitter shows Garry trying to de-escalate the situation by gesturing at the man and telling him to calm down.
"Relax, relax!"
The man who confronted him replied enthusiastically, and perhaps in an unwise manner, saying:
"I’m a fighter too dog, I do this!"
The people in Garry's group and the onlookers kept the two men from getting within range of each other and potentially squaring off. It is not known what the reason behind the argument was and the situation was curbed at just a verbal altercation.
Check out footage of the altercation uploaded by Betr Combat on Twitter:
#UFC285Fan tries to fight Ian Garry outside UFC 285 😳 #UFC285 https://t.co/glc6TcM1kK
Ian Garry talks about meeting Conor McGregor at UFC 285
Earlier in the night, 'The Future' weathered a stormy start from Song in their matchup before coming back strong and unleashing a flurry of strikes in the third and final round. Ian Garry was destructive in the final stretch as he won by TKO.
Ian Garry celebrated by sauntering in the iconic gait popularized by his compatriot Conor McGregor and spoke about his influence:
“Everybody brings up Conor to me. And it makes so much sense. I’m from Dublin, I’m from Ireland. I talk the [talk], I walk the walk. We resemble each other - I resemble him in so many ways because I’m a fan of his. I’ve watched him compete and grow in the sport. The amount of emotion he brought to me and my friends and anxiety he brought to me and my friends was insane. So, any little bit of respect or homage to him that I can give to him in that octagon to show him how grateful I am for everything he’s done, you can guarantee I’ll be doing it.”
He also spoke about meeting his inspiration before fight night:
“And the kind of crossing of the paths that we had was phenomenal. He beat my chest and he told me I’m a champion, that he’s with me. To have the person that inspired me to be here say that to my face is special and surreal and it’s a moment I will never ever forget.”
Check out Garry's meeting with Conor McGregor:
Ian Garry meets Conor McGregor … again. Lovely stuff. https://t.co/i3YJdz45jL
Check out Ian Garry's comments in his post-fight presser: