Irish UFC star Ian Garry wants to beat the majority of the top 15 at welterweight in order to prove that he earned a future world title fight.
The Dublin native will enter at No.15 on Tuesday's rankings if he can beat Daniel Rodriguez at UFC Charlotte in a massive step-up tonight (Saturday). And he wants to change the narrative about getting easier fights early in his promotional run by defeating multiple top 15 fighters, starting with Rodriguez.
Garry has gone 4-0 since signing with the promotion in 2021, landing a knockout victory over Kenan Song back in April to earn himself a shot at the rankings. And he is keen to prove his mettle by competing regularly and at a continuously higher level over the coming years.
"I don't believe people are giving this the right magnitude," Garry told Mirror Fighting in an exclusive chat. "This is putting me on that scale where the speed at which my career has gone, how amazing it's been up to this point, it's been f***ing incredible. I'm here to just enjoy it all now, this is me getting to enjoy the fruits of my labour.
"Every fight from now on is going to be a massive fight against a ranked guy and I'm so excited for this... I will be so dominant in this fight that there will be no questions about how good I am. I hate when people say 'someone hasn't earned or deserved a title shot' or that their rise was because they got favourable match-ups.
"I hate seeing them say that to fighters because they've gone in there and done what they needed to do every single time. I never, ever want people to say that about me, so what I want to do is fight six guys in the top 15 before I get a title shot. I want to do two between 15 and 10, two between 10 and five and then two between five and one."
And he fancies a meeting with the perennial top-ranked Neil Magny, who handed Rodriguez his latest loss back in November. Garry believes that to truly earn your spot as a top welterweight that a win over the Illinois native is a necessity.
Do you think Ian Garry will beat Daniel Rodriguez tonight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"That's my goal," he said of his frequent top fight ambitions. "That gives me so many different looks against the elite of the elite before I go and get a title shot. Then no-one can sit there and say I haven't earned it. This is No.15, so tick off the box for one. I look at 10-15 and I think it should be Neil Magny [next]. He's fighting Phillip Rowe, he's been the gatekeeper for the top 10 since before I was fighting, I'd like that test."
But as for Rodriguez, he doesn't believe that it's the massive jump in competition that fans are expecting tonight at the Spectrum Center in North Carolina. He is frustrated by viewers who reckon that he will struggle with the move into top level opponents having comfortably won his first four in the UFC following a lightning-quick rise to Cage Warriors gold.
"People are full of s*** talking about him being a big step up," Garry continued. "Has he fought better opponents? Yes. Has he maybe proven himself on a greater level to my other opponents? Absolutely. But for people to sit there and say it's a step up p***es me off, because that implies that I might not be able to handle it, this might be too much.
"There's no f***ing way this guy is better than me, no way. So it irritates me when people say it's a step up and so now its my job to show people that this is not a step up, that I can take this in my f***ing stride and I'll make it look easy."
Ian Garry fights Daniel Rodriguez as part of the main card for Rozenstruik vs Almeida live on BT Sport 2 from 8pm tonight
