With just a day remaining before Ian Machado Garry takes on the welterweight champion Islam Makhachev in the Irishman’s very first UFC title fight at UFC 330, predictions are flying in from all corners. But it’s safe to say that the 28-year-old won’t be paying much attention to most of them as he looks to keep himself focused on the fight ahead. However, ‘The Future’ couldn’t possibly miss a prediction from his idol and compatriot, Conor McGregor, who has now weighed in on his chances as Garry looks to continue the Ireland vs. Dagestan rivalry this weekend.   

Despite badly mixing up where the fight is taking place, the former two-division champion backed his fellow Irishman to get the job done against Makhachev.  

“Let’s go! Come on, yeah,” McGregor said in a video shared on social media. “For the Makhachev-Garry fight, in Miami, I believe. It’s in Miami or New Jersey. Let’s go, Garry. You know it. He has the tools. He’s been doing great work in SBG. He’s put in some solid rounds. I’ve been hearing about the rounds and seeing the rounds and the way the structure was. He’s definitely going to stay safe. He’s definitely going to be in there. Makhachev has pockets where he does, where there’s a lot of stalling.

“He still has things to prove in that welterweight division. He does look like he’s had to grow into it a bit more. It’s a cracking contest. Of course, I’m going with Ian Garry. And I really believe he can do it. For sure, he can do it.” 

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Though McGregor seems to be completely unaware that this week’s marquee event is taking place in Philadelphia, his conviction that Garry can actually defeat Makhachev is far from a random prediction. The welterweight title challenger spent a significant portion of his training camp at SBG Ireland, McGregor’s longtime gym, before ultimately joining his official camp at Chute Boxe in Brazil.

As an Irishman, it makes sense that Ian Garry would spend time at the country’s most revered MMA gym, the same place that produced Ireland’s biggest martial artist. But it’s worth noting that ‘The Future’ has historical ties to McGregor’s gym.

During the early stages of his professional journey, Ian Machado Garry spent considerable time at SBG Ireland before switching to Team KF in Dublin during his Cage Warriors run. However, just 10 days before his CW welterweight championship fight, Garry abruptly parted ways with Team KF because of an internal conflict.

For that reason, Garry still maintains a connection with Conor McGregor’s gym and has even sparred with the former UFC champion. As a result, ‘The Notorious’ clearly has plenty of faith in his compatriot, predicting that Garry could knock out Makhachev with a perfectly timed head kick at UFC 330.

“How do I see it?” McGregor added in the clip. “Right high kick across the crown of the head. Late round. This goes late, folks. This goes late, this fight. This goes late. And a victory for the Irish-Brazilian. Let’s go, Ian. Rooting for you, bro.”

Islam Makhachev’s advantage over Ian Garry on the mat is definitely evident. However, the Irishman has his own edge in height and reach, which could create a major problem for the Dagestani champion. Makhachev stands at 5’10” with a 70.5-inch reach, while Garry towers over him at 6’3″ with a 74.5-inch reach. Noticing that glaring discrepancy in their size, it’s easy to understand that Garry’s game plan would be to keep his distance, stay outside Makhachev’s takedown range, and pick him apart with his punches and kicks.

In fact, one of Ian Garry’s most memorable finishes came against Daniel Rodriguez in 2023, where he spectacularly starched ‘D-Rod’ with a perfectly timed head kick before putting the finishing touches on him with follow-up ground-and-pound strikes, just like McGregor did against Donald Cerrone in 2020.

So, as someone who knows it, McGregor may not be too far off with his prediction, especially considering that Chael Sonnen also sees the Dublin native knocking out Islam Makhachev. Now, after predicting Garry’s fate against the two-division champion, ‘The Notorious’ has also reacted to one of Garry’s old videos, which was reposted ahead of his title fight. 

Conor McGregor reacts to Ian Garry’s resurfaced emotional Cage Warriors video 

Five years ago, Ian Garry became the CW welterweight champion by defeating Jack Grant via unanimous decision at Cage Warriors 125. Following his victory, a video of the Irishman, visibly emotional holding the belt and crying while speaking to someone began making the rounds on social media.

After all these years, the video has resurfaced once again as Garry stands on the verge of becoming a champion once again, this time in the UFC. Conor McGregor reshared the emotional footage and gave his unwavering support ahead of the biggest fight of his career.

“Come on Garry, f—k them all!” McGregor wrote in the caption. “Do it for your little crew bro, and never forget what they said against! We got the skills 1000%!”

Hearing those encouraging words from his idol could provide Garry with an extra dose of motivation as he prepares to face Islam Makhachev. And while victory is far from guaranteed, ‘The Future’ is expected to leave everything inside the Octagon as he looks to bring the welterweight belt back to Ireland for the first time since Conor McGregor last captured the lightweight title against Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016.