Inside Conor McGregor's sparring session with top UFC star Ian Machado Garry
Ian Machado Garry has told of how he saw glimpses of the Conor McGregor that won world titles in two divisions during their sparring sessions this summer.
The fast-rising UFC star is currently ranked No.10 in the world at welterweight; the division where his fellow Irishman is expected to return next year against Micheal Chandler. Garry returned home for a brief visit in the summer, and was contacted to join McGregor for special training sessions in both his boxing and MMA gyms as he works towards his comeback.
Firstly, they competed in a boxing session at Crumlin Boxing Club, where legendary coach Phil Sutcliffe overlooked proceedings. Later in the week, the duo headed to SBG Ireland's Dublin HQ, where they took part in a full MMA sparring session, the first few seconds of which was released to the public on social media.
"It was the most exciting moments of my life," Garry told Mirror Fighting in an exclusive chat as part of his role as an ambassador for Betr. "I've stood in Madison Square Garden, sold out arenas, 20,000 people chanting my name and to be able to stand across from Conor and go 'holy s***, we're actually doing this', it was just surreal."
Just 25 seconds of footage from their MMA spar, and a handful of photos from the boxing, were released - but it didn't stop fans from expressing their excitement and watching in their millions. Just under 5million on McGregor's page alone hit play, and Garry says that the parts that weren't seen showed the Irishman as a legitimate top contender still after almost three years out.
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"I sent him a DM and said I wanted to meet up, said 'I'd love to chat to you about some stuff' and he was like 'no problem, pop down to Crumlin' and the rest was history," the welterweight explained. "He is the coolest f***ing bloke I've ever met, and I mean this, he's the person I've met who is the most like me.
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"He's the most energetic, funny, he's just a good energy, a good laugh. That's the energy you need to be surrounded by with people. And he's still got it, he started moving and I was like 'oh s***', he brought out the OG McGregor against me, started squatting down and reaching. I was like 'oh s***, I know where this goes' and I knew that I had to be very, very careful. But I'm so excited to watch that man come back."
McGregor expects to return to the octagon in April of next year after re-entering the USADA drug testing pool with three different samples in recent weeks. Meanwhile, Garry is back in action for the fourth time this year against No.9-ranked Vicente Luque, whose last win came against former world champion Rafael Dos Anjos.
Garry's training has seen him train around the world in Ireland, Iceland, the UK, America and Brazil. He had been working at Renegade, but a rift with coaches over having elite welterweights who could be potential contenders for champion Leon Edwards saw him decide to finish camp at Chute Boxe in Curitiba.
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