LAS VEGAS – Ian Garry beat Song Kenan with a third-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 285 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Garry, who found himself in trouble in the first round, but rallied for the late win as a favorite of 9-1.
Ian Garry vs. Song Kenan
Result: Ian Garry def. Song Kenan via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 4:22
Updated records: Garry (11-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC), Kenan (19-7 MMA, 4-3 UFC)
Key stat: Garry more than doubled up on Kenan in the total strikes department, 127-61.
Garry on the fight's key moment
Garry on his first-round struggle
“I know I have it in me. I know the heart that I have. I know the chin that I have, and he caught me with a beautiful shot. Fair play to him. Congratulations. But you’re going to have to do a hell of a lot more to put me out. If you look at any of the best fighters on the planet, like anyone in that GOAT conversation, who hasn’t fought through adversity? Who hasn’t had that? Jon Jones nearly had his arm snapped. Anderson Silva – we’ve seen him unconscious. Georges St-Pierre, we’ve seen him unconscious. But they come back. Their mindset, their mentality, everything is phenomenal about them, and that’s why they’re the greats. That’s what I have to do. I have to pull stuff out of my ass like that to make sure that I come out and I win.”
Garry on what he wants next
“I had a baby. I’m very blessed to be in the situation that I am. I’m a young man who is at the top of my sport, signed to the best organization in the world for what I want to do. I have the ability to be able to take a paternity leave and be there with my wife for the final trimester of our baby to make sure that I’m there for her 24/7, that she doesn’t have to go through anything on her own, that I’ll be there for her – when my baby was born, that every second of every day I’m there. I don’t want to miss a single moment of him growing. And that was what (my layoff) was about. It’s about special moments that are important, and there’s some things in life that are more important than (fighting), and the birth of my little boy is absolutely one of them.
“Now, don’t get me wrong: It was tough (not fighting). It was very tough. But I’m back. I’m here and I’m going to be active. I’m very happy to announce that I’ve signed a new multifight deal with the UFC. … You’re going to be seeing me around here for a lot longer. I’m not going anywhere.
“… (I’m) happy – happy to get the win, happy to stay undefeated. (I have) 11 (wins now). Now it sounds pretty f*cking good. But (I’m) not satisfied. I’ve told you this many, many times: I’m searching for perfection. I was an idiot and I got caught with a shot that I shouldn’t have got caught with because I made a little error, and that’s OK. We learn, we grow and we get better, and we show up in Miami hopefully in five weeks and we show how fast I can learn and evolve.”
To hear more from Garry, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 285.
