Michael Chiesa remains bullish on Ian Machado Garry's upside despite falling short in his first bid at gold.
Machado Garry (17-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) suffered a unanimous decision loss to Islam Makhachev (29-1 MMA, 18-1 UFC) in their UFC 330 welterweight title fight this month, but the Irishman was more competitive than many pundits and the oddsmakers indicated.
Although Machado Garry did not get the belt at UFC 330, retired welterweight standout turned UFC analyst and commentator Chiesa still saw flashes of brilliance. If Machado Garry can build on those going forward, it could lead him to the ultimate prize.
"Ian Garry's stock to me still goes up," Chiesa told MMA Junkie. "I don't think his stock goes down at all. There are people that definitely had
him picked to win, and he didn't fight a bad fight. But he could have fought better. But his stock still goes up. He was able to defend takedowns. He made it really hard for Islam. He made Islam have to ditch MMA and focus on wrestling to get through the late rounds of that fight.
"Ian's stock still goes up. I can confidently say there is a world where he has a world title someday. Especially given how young he is. 28 years old. He's got a lot of time to win a title."
UFC CEO Dana White sparked a key post-fight narrative around Machado Garry at UFC 330 when he criticized a lack of "killer instinct" shown against Makhachev. The champ echoed that sentiment and said Machado Garry displayed "too much respect."
Chiesa can stand behind that perspective as someone who stepped into the octagon 22 times and never showed mid-fight gestures of appreciation to his opponent, and agrees it might have prevented Machado Garry for greater success at UFC 330.
"There is a certain limit, especially when you did lose," Chiesa said. "It's like, OK, you're down 3-0. You've got to get on the gas. It's time to stop being friends, and you've got to take this guy's head off. Ian is out to try to knock you out, but you can save the hugging and all that crap from before the fight for after the fight. But for 15 to 25 minutes, you've got to be locked in trying to take someone's head off."
To hear more Chiesa, check out his complete appearance on "The Bohnfire" podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Analyst confident in Ian Machado Garry's title future after UFC 330 loss
