Ian Garry earned his way on to arguable the most highly anticipated UFC card of the year this weekend with an angry email to matchmaker Sean Shelby.
The former Cage Warriors champion from Dublin has been making waves since signing with the UFC last year, but was unable to add to his highlight reel of finishes against Darian Weeks back in April. And immediately after that bout, which he publicly claimed was an "A" performance, he insisted he wanted a quick turnaround.
And despite the card being filled early on for the International Fight Week headliner, Garry was told to stay ready for a potential opportunity. That chance ultimately arose in the form of a bout with Gabe Green, his most experienced UFC opponent to date.
“I emailed Sean Shelby a couple days, maybe a week after that fight," he told media at the UFC 276 press day. "And said I want to get in there straight away again. I’m not happy, I’m kind of p***ed off with that fight. I didn’t get what I want, myself. I wasn’t happy with myself and my performance in that fight, and then he said July 2, and I was ready to cut weight in two weeks. So, here we are.”
Green will be the first opponent Garry has faced who has recorded a UFC victory, having previously beaten Darian Weeks and Jordan Williams in the octagon and Rostem Akman in Cage Warriors. And he is excited by the challenge, having always been a fan of the competition side of fighting relative to the violence.
“I think he will bring it,” Garry continued. “I don’t think this is going to be an easy fight, I know he’s going to be ready, he’s going to be great. He’s coming off of two wins.
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"He'll be confident, great, cool, sweet. I don't want people coming off losses I want them when they're happy, they think they're that f***ing good and I go in there and shut them down.
"I just say 'I'm better, I'm better than you and I'll prove that'. That's all I want to do my entire career is keep proving that I'm the best, I don't need to better than anyone else in the world except the guy stood across from me in the cage that night.
"No matter what happens in the cage, once I come out there victorious I’ve done my job right. I’m happy to get the win, the performance is always going to be better. I’m never going to sit there and say the performance was perfect.”
