Coming into the UFC, Ian Garry emulated the biggest MMA star in the world, Conor McGregor. He walked like him, and talked like him, but also shared another thing in common with his senior Irish counterpart, i.e., his electrifying fighting style. However, unlike ‘The Notorious’, the #7-ranked Garry came into the UFC with an undefeated record and has continued his zero-loss run in eight UFC appearances, with all but one bout in mega PPV cards.

Now, ‘The Future’ has taken the last-minute risk of putting his 15-0 record against the dangerous 18-0 Kazakh phenom Shavkat Rakhmonov. It’s a tough matchup, no doubt, but the fact that Garry took this fight on short notice, as a replacement for Belal Muhammad, has just raised his stock in the eyes of fight fans. After he got kicked out of Team Renegade, Ian Garry found himself at Kill Cliff FC, where he met former welterweight title contender Gilbert Burns who gave ‘The Future’ some much-needed advice that contributed to the evolution of the Irish fighter we see today.

Gilbert Burns gave Ian Garry much-needed career advice

Ian Garry had a nasty fallout with the folks over at the Birmingham-based Team Renegade. According to Leon Edwards, the brash Irishman was difficult to deal with, often turning up late for sessions, and bringing a camera and his wife with him. After leaving the gym based in England, he moved to Florida to train with Henri Hooft at Kill Cliff FC, where one of the mainstays there Gilbert Burns gave him some much-needed advice that would significantly shape the trajectory of Garry’s fighting style.

“One of the first experiences I had at Kill Cliff was between myself and Gilbert Burns. And Gilbert said, ‘Listen, Ian, you’re too young and talented to stay in one place. Go travel the world and learn.”, said ‘The Future’ in the countdown to UFC 310. Incidentally, Garry trained with` his UFC 310 opponent Shavkat Rakhmonov while at Kill Cliff FC, with coach Henri Hooft even predicting that they’d have to face each other someday.

Following the advice ‘Durinho’ gave him, Garry traveled to São Paulo, Brazil to train at Chute Boxe Academy, home of former lightweight king Charles Oliveira. After Brazil, ‘The Future’ made his way to Phuket, Thailand, to train at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA, where he’s currently training for his much-awaited showdown against Shavkat Rakhmonov.

However, Ian Garry was originally scheduled to face Joaquin Buckley in the main event of UFC Tampa, this December. But the UFC threw a curveball and matched him up against Rakhmonov for UFC 310’s co-main event, putting Colby Covington in his place at UFC Tampa. Let’s see what ‘The Future’ had to say about this switch-up.

‘The Future’ speaks about the curveball with the UFC 310 fight

“New opponent, new date—everything flipped on its head.”, were Ian Garry’s words as he described being matched up against Shavkat Rakhmonov. “That to me is exciting. I operate best in a short period. The opponent changes and the date change changes a lot. I just love to fight, and this is an opportunity to go out there and prove that I am better than everyone believes and knows I am”, said ‘The Future’ on his YouTube channel.

Originally scheduled for UFC Tampa against Joaquin Buckley, the Irishman was uber-excited at the prospect of facing a man he once wished to be matched up with. After his win over Michael Page at UFC 303, the Irishman expressed his excitement at some day facing his UFC 310 Kazakh counterpart. He said, “This Shavkat, 18-0, undefeated, I’d love to get my hands on him. I’ve trained with him. I have nothing but respect for the guy. But I want to be the first guy to take his ‘O’, and I know I can do it.”

“I just beat the fastest guy in the division, other than me. When it comes to striking and skills, I can do it. When it comes to grappling, we’ve seen the growth that I’ve had. I’m excited to go out there and prove it against someone like him.”, said the 27-year-old at the UFC 303 post-fight press conference.

What do you think of the fight between Ian Garry and Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310? Whose ‘O’ will be taken by the end of the fight? Let us know in the comments down below.