Michael Bisping sees no issue with Ian Machado Garry looking up to the biggest star in MMA.
Garry (12-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) grew up idolizing fellow Irishman Conor McGregor, who skyrocketed into a megastar as he won two UFC titles and made millions of dollars.
Garry often gets criticized for emulating McGregor’s confidence, going as far as saying that Saturday’s UFC 292 event would go down the drain without him. An outspoken fighter himself, Bisping sees nothing wrong with Garry’s approach.
“You want to be known, you want to get your name out there,” Bisping said on his YouTube channel. “You want to set your stall out very, very high. Now, some people it’s rubbing up the wrong way. Some people are saying he’s too cocky.
“Some people saying he’s trying to become the next Conor McGregor and all the rest of it. Why not? Why wouldn’t you want to be the next Conor McGregor? I’m talking about the double champ version in 2016 and the ridiculously loaded man that he is. Everybody wants to do that. Everybody wants to emulate that.”
Undefeated Garry meets Neil Magny (28-10 MMA, 21-9 UFC) on Saturday’s main card at TD Garden in Boston. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
Boston is known to have a large Irish contingent, and Bisping sees this as an opportunity for Garry to have his breakout moment – just like McGregor did when he defeated Max Holloway in the same city 10 years ago.
“Of course McGregor, one of the big things about him was the Irish,” Bisping continued. “The Irish, they were so loyal to him, and they would follow him wherever it was in the world, and this is going down in Boston. Remember, when Conor McGregor fought in Boston that was a big coming out party. I’m sure the UFC put that fight on there specifically, and this for Ian Garry could be the exact same kind of night.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 292.
