UFC color commentator Joe Rogan has seen many UFC fighters rise up through the ranks over the years, and he believes Ian Machado Garry stands out from the crowd as having that elusive ‘It’ factor.
“(He’s) undefeated, so confident and so intelligent,” Rogan said on his podcast alongside Bas Rutten. “Beating Daniel Rodriguez like that in the last fight, and being the first guy to stop Rodriguez (with strikes) – that’s a big deal. He’s got it. Whatever ‘it’ is, he’s got it. He’s on his way up.”
Garry’s first round head kick TKO finish of Rodriguez marked the 25-year-old Irishman’s 5th win in a row since joining the UFC, extending his overall career record to 13-0.
Garry’s UFC run began with a first round KO of Jordan Williams back in November of 2021, and he followed that up with back-to-back decision victories against Darien Weeks and Gabriel Green.
Then came a TKO stoppage of Song Kenan, before going on to end Rodriguez’s proud record of never having been defeated by strikes to secure the No.13 spot in the UFC welterweight rankings.
Dana White is known to also be a fan of Garry and suggested after his latest win that they had big plans for him in the future.
“He looked awesome tonight,” White said. “He’s super confident, and that kid’s ready to take over the world.
“We have the Irish guy blueprint around here. So, we’ll probably take him to Boston, or MSG, and then eventually Ireland if he keeps doing what he’s doing.”