Ian Machado Garry was undefeated when he arrived within the UFC, and has only ever lost one contentious decision to Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Before that meeting with Rakhmonov at UFC 310, Garry had a flawless skilled record. Fans had to return to his amateur days, when he was defeated by eventual The Ultimate Fighter contestant Andreeas Binder in March of 2018.
Now, the Dubliner is the highest contender for UFC gold at welterweight, while Binder restarted his journey towards the Octagon with a Cage Warriors debut win over Oton Jasse on Saturday night. And the pair’s old rivalry appears to be completely dead, with the Galway fighter hoping his old foe wins the belt.
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Andreeas Binder wants Ian Machado Garry to beat Islam Makhachev – but fears he may not
Every time an up-and-coming fighter scores a win against someone who goes on to turn out to be a giant name, they are sometimes related to that opponent. Andreeas Binder knows just how this feels, particularly after spending over half a decade because the one red mark on Ian Machado Garry’s otherwise perfect record.
Nevertheless, Binder is rooting for his old opponent as he appears to be gearing up for a fight with the pound-for-pound best on the earth Islam Makhachev. “I hope he wins,” Binder told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat.
“People at all times compare me and Ian and say ‘oh you’re the one which beat Ian Garry’, yeah nevertheless it was amateur. what I mean? I won’t ever root against any Irish fighter. The more Irish fighters we’ve within the UFC the higher.
“I’d never put anyone like that down because he remains to be fighting for this country… He got to the UFC, I hope he does well.”
Binder did joke that Garry also represents Brazil now consequently of his family ties to the country, but is keen to see his old rival pick up gold. Nevertheless, he isn’t sure if Garry will find a way to topple a seemingly unbeatable challenge in Makhachev.
“He’s gone over to Georgia now to enhance his wrestling,” Binder continued. “So if he has improved his wrestling then he could possibly be an issue. But I just think Islam is just too much for him, he’s an excessive amount of for anyone!”