“The Future” is still overflowing with confidence.
It has been only 22 days since No. 2-ranked Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight Ian Garry lost a unanimous decision to Islam Makhachev in their UFC 330 title fight inside Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Following the defeat, Garry said he was proud of his performance and believed he had pushed one of the greatest fighters in UFC history “to the f—king wire.”
Since then, the 28-year-old has mostly stayed out of the public
eye, posting only his initial reaction to the loss and a few family photos on Instagram.
Well, that changed yesterday.
While speaking with reporters ahead of Katie Taylor’s retirement fight, Garry reflected on his failed title bid and declared that he would defeat Makhachev if they ran it back immediately.
“I’m proud and happy — proud of myself, my team, my preparation and everything we did,” Garry said when asked how he felt about the fight. “Obviously, I’m annoyed about the result. That’s the fight game. We get back on the horse and go again because I’ve got 10 years in this sport to compete at the highest level and prove that I’m one of the baddest men walking the earth.”
Garry believes his biggest mistake against Makhachev was failing to increase his offensive output and put enough damage behind his attacks.
“I definitely think the biggest thing I could have done was a bit more volume, more kicks, more venom with the shots to the head,” Gary added. “But I feel if I fight him right now, I beat him. I just have so much confidence in myself, so much confidence in my team and the preparation that we do. I just want to get back in there tomorrow and do it all over again.”
There is certainly a fine line between supreme confidence and outright delusion.
Every elite fighter must believe he can win, especially after a defeat. However, the entire world just watched Garry receive his opportunity to dethrone Makhachev, and he came up short across five rounds.
An immediate rematch is never going to happen, meaning Garry will have to earn another title opportunity by going on a run against other top Welterweight contenders.
Fortunately for “The Future,” time remains on his side. Garry is only 28 years old, remains ranked near the top of the division, and has already proven that he belongs among its elite.
Garry revealed that he wants to return as quickly as possible and is simply waiting for UFC to call with his next assignment.
Confidence clearly is not the problem. Now, Garry must prove he made the correct adjustments before getting another shot at Makhachev.
