Ian Garry Pulls Off His Biggest U-Turn Against Geoff Neal; Gentleman’s Agreement to ‘Shake Hands’ After UFC 298 in Place

Ian Garry is one of the most talked-about fighters at UFC 298. While he’s nowhere close to being the headliner of the pay-per-view, the controversies surrounding his personal life have taken the forefront. Now, the speculations have gone beyond his personal life and entered the professional areas making him eager to secure a win and “silence” the sceptics.

The last we saw Garry was when he dropped out of his fight against Vincente Luque at UFC 296 due to a sudden pneumonia diagnosis, but since then, the fighter has recovered and has found footing against a new opponent. He showed up at the recent UFC 298 press conference ready for a challenge.

Ian Garry wants to prove himself while maintaining good spirits

Ian Garry was received by many boos when a reporter asked him about his mindset going into the fight. Upon getting the question, a rather unabashed Garry took the mic to talk back to the raging spectators. He seemed even more excited to win the fight just to show his skill to everyone who was against him.

“Every single one of you is talking about me.” He said to a booing audience. “Every single one of you here is here to see me. I’m gonna get my hand raised Saturday night and I’m gonna silence every single one of you. . .” He also maintained that there was no ill will between him and his opponent Geoff Neal and that he’s willing to shake hands after the fight.

 “I’ll shake hands with any man that’s willing to stand there in the Octagon with me. That’s simple as (that). . . Geoff, I’ll shake your hand if you’re willing to shake mine.” Neal agreed almost instantaneously making the agreement final. Clearly, the fighter has a mindset willing to go in as a fighter and come out as one.

Ian Garry has certainly weathered not one, but many storms over the past few months after his relationship with his wife, Layla Machado Garry was brought out in the public for endless conversations around it. Why is the public booing him? Perhaps his ambitions for the middleweight belt would throw some light on it all.

Will Garry go to middleweight still?

When Sean Strickland dragged Ian Garry’s name through the dirt, the fighter showed a desire to fight ‘Tarzan’ for his middleweight championship after he was done with Luque. The Luque fight never happened and now Strickland is not even the champion.

Watch This Story: TW Watch: Sean Strickland Threatens To Stab Dricus Du Plessis if UFC Star Brings Up His Abusive Father in Trash Talk

Perhaps, if he still wanted to move divisions just for the sake of revenge, a grudge match could ensue between the two. The beef may have died out now but Garry still gets called names by spectators online all over the place. It’s not something that’s easy to bounce back from.

Either way, the rising talent still goes undefeated in his professional career. The way he’s treating his opponent Neal today is different than he had been treating him before his Neil Magny fight. Garry infamously put Neal’s mugshot on a t-shirt for kicks and giggles. And in the recent press conference, he showed nothing but class. Perhaps ‘The Future’ has matured as a professional with the fights he’s fought. What are your thoughts?

Also Read: Ian Garry Separates Himself From Conor McGregor’s Approach as His Return at UFC 298 Awaits- “Family Time”