UFC 292: Ireland’s ‘next Conor McGregor’ promises to take Boston by storm

A decade after Conor McGregor announced himself to the world, another mouthy Irish upstart is preparing to take over the UFC.

Ireland’s Ian Garry promises to steal the show when he fights Neil Magny (L) at UFC 292 this weekend. Picture: Paul Rutherford/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

A decade ago, Conor McGregor made his second UFC appearance when he fought through a busted ACL to beat Max Holloway in front of a raucous crowd in Boston.

Now, 10 years and two days after that breakthrough performance, another mouthy Irishman, Ian Garry, promises to make a similar statement in the same city.

Garry, 12-0 in MMA and 5-0 in the UFC, takes on welterweight veteran Neil Magny in a spicy showdown on the pay per view portion of UFC 292, which is being headlined by Aljamain Sterling’s bantamweight title defence against ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley.

Garry was met with a hero’s welcome at the UFC 292 weigh ins. Picture: Paul Rutherford/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images

Sterling has legitimate claims on being the best 135-pounder ever, and O’Malley’s online following counts in the millions.

But Garry says he’s the star of the show. And he has McGregor’s blueprint to thank.

“I take a lot from what he did, because he’s one of the greatest to ever do it in terms of fighting, talking, looks and persona,” Garry told this masthead. “As a kid, I looked up to him and felt there was a lot of him in me.

Things are HEATED between Neil Magny and Ian Garry 😳 #UFC292pic.twitter.com/bC5z2WuM9Q

— UFC (@ufc) August 17, 2023

“I might fight in a very different way because of the way my brain works, but there’s a lot of similarities that I’m grateful for.”

Garry was a 15-year-old schoolboy in Ireland when ‘Notorious’ scored his unanimous decision win over future great Holloway, and was absolutely obsessed by his countryman’s antics.

“I was so hyped, just losing my mind at school,” he said. “Thinking about the press conference and going to school the next day going, ‘he said what???’

“I was just so excited about everything that came out of that man’s mouth.”

Conor McGregor beat Max Holloway in Boston in 2013. Picture: Colm O'Molloy/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Like McGregor did in 2013, and when he fought Dennis Siver in the same city in 2015, Garry received a huge cheer from the heavily Irish crowd in Boston.

Meanwhile, Magny, a veteran and a legend of the sport, was met with loud boos when they both weighed in.

There were fireworks during Friday’s press conference as well when the pair mouthed off at one another, before needing to be forcefully separated when they faced off.

That’s when Garry dropped one of McGregor’s most famous one-liners.

“You’ll do nothing,” he told Magny before revving up the boisterous crowd.

Straight out of the McGregor playbook, with a flourish of his own.

Garry celebrates after stopping Daniel Rodriguez in the first round in May. Picture: Matt Davies/PxImages/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

“Conor paved the path for guys from Ireland to make it in the UFC,” Garry said. “He laid the foundations.

“I’ve stepped on a lot of them, and now I’m laying my own.

“I inspire so that people who want to can grow up, fight, achieve greatness, follow their heart and do what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

“Conor did it, I’ve done it. What’s to say you can’t too?”

Garry even had a shout out for rising Aussie welterweight Jack Della Maddalena, who will fight Kevin Holland on September 16, as he issued a warning for Magny.

“Neil is slow, he’s getting older, he’s sloppy, I’m a new generation of fighter,” he said. “There’s me, Jack Della Maddalena, Khamzat Chimaev. We’re coming, and we’re going to make examples of people like Neil.

“Boston, I promise you you’re going to get a finish for the ages and I’m going to show you that Ireland is back.”

Originally published as UFC 292: Ireland’s ‘next Conor McGregor’ promises to take Boston by storm