UFC’s Next Big Star (Besides Sean O’Malley) Emerges In Boston

UFC 292 in Boston was a star-making event.

And no, it wasn’t just Sean O’Malley.

Suga already was a star, evident by the fanfare surrounding his bantamweight title fight against Aljamain Sterling at TD Garden. O’Malley’s second-round knockout Saturday night only solidified his status and catapulted his popularity to even greater heights. He’s now arguably the (tattooed) face of UFC.

Ian Machado Garry also showed why he has the potential to become one of the best and most popular fighters in the company, with the confidence cockiness, charisma and skill to captivate audiences for a very long time. After all, he’s just getting started at age 25.

“I (expletive) told you guys, I’m so good,” Garry said after dominating veteran Neil Magny en route to a unanimous-decision win. “And I don’t sit here like a (expletive) saying it. I mean it. I know it. I’ve trained with the best in the world. I know what I’m capable of. I know what I’m about to go in there and do to these people. My timing, my speed is just different. But it’s my intelligence. It’s my intelligence.

“Today, I could’ve absolutely went in and got that finish. Or I could’ve ended up getting (expletive) choked out because I was silly and I made a mistake. So, what I did is I just took my time. I clinically just disposed of him in every single which way.”

Garry isn’t wrong. He picked apart Magny from start to finish, delivering a heavy dose of leg kicks that sent his opponent to the mat on multiple occasions while also flashing the elite striking ability that makes him a possible problem in the welterweight division.

“I’m the guy that’s going to bring them back. I’m going to relight that (expletive) flame in Ireland, in Irish MMA.”

Ian Machado Garry after UFC 292 in Boston

The judges’ scorecards — which included a rare 30-24 score — reflected the lopsided nature of the fight, which should serve as the latest steppingstone for Garry, a flamboyant Irishman whose blend of unbridled bumptiousness and eye-opening talent has drawn comparisons to a young Conor McGregor.

“I am very blessed that the way I carry myself, the way that I train, the way that I prepare for fights, the way that I cut weight, the way that I do absolutely everything is elite of the elite,” Garry said. “There is no one that does it better than me, and you can argue that all day, but the truth of the matter is I’m able to hold open workouts in front of thousands of fans in a pub in Boston.”

Garry last week held an open workout at A.T. O’Keeffe’s, an Irish pub in Boston, ahead of his UFC 292 showdown with Magny. The crowd reaction offered another glimpse of Garry’s burgeoning stardom. Love him or hate him, he’s magnetic, with an intangible energy that’ll open many doors in the UFC so long as he continues to take care of business inside the octagon.

“I don’t need to rush,” Garry said. “I need to develop my skillset to be the best I possibly can be, because when I hold that belt, there’s no one taking that belt off me. I’m retiring as the champion. I’m retiring as one of the greatest of all time. Nobody’s going to come close to me.”

So, what’s next for Garry, who improved to 12-0 in mixed martial arts (6-0 in the UFC) with his convincing victory over Magny?

Well, The Future wasted no time in calling out Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, one of the most accomplished strikers in UFC history.

“I want to prove to the world that I am the best striker in the division, I’m one of the best strikers of all time,” Garry said. “And to do that, you have to go out and beat people of that caliber. And Wonderboy is that guy. So, for me to go out there and to beat Wonderboy — to finish him, to get a decision win, whatever the win is, to have my hand raised against that man — absolutely means that I am the new generation of strikers in the UFC and it is inarguable that I am the best striker in the division.”

Garry’s popularity clearly is on the rise in Ireland, where McGregor remains the gold standard for MMA stars, and it’s his mission to bring the UFC back to Dublin — both literally and figuratively.

“I’m the guy that’s going to bring them back. I’m going to relight that (expletive) flame in Ireland, in Irish MMA,” Garry said. “I’m going to bring back that chaotic energy that we have. I’m going to have fans traveling the (expletive) world, jumping on cars, setting (expletive) fires, drinking the world away. The Irish fans are the best in the world. And we need to relight that flame. And I’m the guy to do it.”

UFC president Dana White said he’d like Garry to fight at UFC 295, a massive card at Madison Square Garden headlined by Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight championship. And Garry said he’d like to have four more fights before challenging for the welterweight title, currently held by Leon Edwards.

Obviously, securing gold would boost Garry’s stock, much like Saturday night’s title win figures to do for O’Malley’s. But it’s apparent Garry already is blossoming into the welterweight division’s biggest star.

“If I’m not right now, I will be,” Garry declared.