Ian Machado Garry was not about to let a feud between two promoters stop him from growing his brand.
The Irishman is fast approaching his first title shot within the UFC, having been chosen as the primary man to challenge welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.
Garry will face Makhachev at UFC 330, because the pair headline the promotion’s return to Philadelphia on August 15.
Ahead of that fight, the Irishman recently made an announcement, joining Tom Aspinall in signing with Eddie Hearn’s talent agency. However the two don’t share the identical agreement with the British promoter.
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Ian Machado Garry says signing with Eddie Hearn’s agency has ‘nothing to do with the UFC’
Garry has signed with Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency just a few months after the UFC heavyweight champion became the primary mixed martial artist to achieve this.
Hearn is currently preparing to barter Aspinall’s return to the UFC following his recovery from eye surgery, which presents an interesting scenario given Dana White’s feud with the English promoter.
However the UFC won’t be coping with Hearn relating to Garry’s fights.
During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, ‘The Future’ explained how his agreement got here together and what he hopes to get out of it.
‘All of it got here a few couple of months ago,” Garry said. “The interest got here, they reached out to me and my team, and I loved the thought of working with them.
“I even have numerous respect for them and what they’ve done within the sporting industry. The actual fact they’ve opened up a talent agency, I saw so many avenues to potentially grow my brand in England, Ireland, and give attention to Europe.
“I believed it was a no brainer,” he continued. “After they reached out, I loved the thought of it.”
Garry later clarified that Hearn won’t play a job in his UFC negotiations, which is able to remain exclusively in his and agent Lloyd Pearson’s hands.
“He (Pearson) is my only contact with the UFC. And if Hunter and the UFC ever have an issue, they call me. There isn’t any in-between. I’m a person, I don’t need anybody else to do my work for me.
“I hired Lloyd to be certain that he runs all of the Xs, all of the Os.
“This signing (with Hearn) has nothing to do with the UFC. It has nothing to do with my job contained in the Octagon. It has the whole lot to do with outside the Octagon.
“I would like Eddie and Matchroom Talent Agency to do as much as they physically possibly can to get probably the most amount of attention on my name.”
The separation between Garry’s work with Hearn and his negotiations with the UFC perhaps made it easier for the Irishman to disregard the British promoter’s feud with White.
Garry acknowledged the rivalry and explained why he didn’t let it affect his discussions over a cope with Matchroom Talent Agency.
“There may be beef in the meanwhile between Dana White and Eddie Hearn,” the Dublin native noted.
“I don’t take care of their beef. I don’t take care of what their relationship is or what problems they’ve with one another.
“I’m the No. 1-ranked fighter within the UFC’s welterweight division, who’s fighting the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter for that strap,” he added.
“What I do within the UFC, it has absolutely nothing to do with what I do outside of the game, and the way me and Matchroom Talent Agency determine to grow my brand.”
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