Ian Garry isn’t about to let a petty promotional feud get in the way of building his brand. The undefeated Irishman is preparing for the greatest fight of his life, UFC 330 on August 15, when he will face Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in Philadelphia.

But shortly before getting inside the cage, ‘The Future’ made a massive move outside of it by signing with Eddie Hearn’s new Matchroom Talent Agency as the second UFC fighter on their roster—and unlike what many believed, he felt absolutely no need to talk with UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall first.

“No, because I believe me and Tom Aspinall are at very, very different situations right now,” he told Ariel Helwani. “I believe that, again, I am fighting for a world title. I am fighting the number one pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, a two-weight world champion. I am getting everything I want.

“I’m happy with everything that I have negotiated, argued, and agreed with the UFC. I’m not looking for anything else right now. I have got what I wanted. I’ve got what I’ve earned. I’ve got what I deserved, that world title shot.”

According to Ian Machado Garry, he didn’t bother calling the heavyweight champion because their situations in the UFC are light-years apart. Unlike Tom Aspinall, Ian Garry claims he has no issues to resolve, and no contract disputes exist with the UFC.

After finally landing the title shot he had been chasing for the last couple of years, the Irishman firmly states that he has already received everything he wanted from the promotion. That’s why, unlike the heavyweight champion, he has no incentive to involve Hearn in any UFC-related business or ask for advice before signing with Matchroom.

But despite what he says, the move has raised plenty of eyebrows, mostly because Eddie Hearn and Dana White are in a bitter feud ever since the UFC CEO launched Zuffa Boxing earlier this year. Things only worsened when White signed Hearn’s longtime star, Conor Benn, to a $15 million one-fight Zuffa Boxing contract. So, it is no surprise that many in the fight world believe Aspinall’s signing with Matchroom Talent Agency in March, which made him the first UFC fighter on their roster, was a way for the well-known boxing promoter to get back at the UFC CEO.

And while Eddie Hearn has been publicly trashing Aspinall’s current UFC contract, even demanding his release, he is currently preparing to negotiate Aspinall’s return to the UFC following his recovery from eye surgery. Ian Garry, on the other hand, stated that his partnership with Matchroom is solely for European marketing and commercial interests. So while Aspinall signed with the newly launched Talent agency to work through his UFC contract issues and get better pay, Garry’s signing with Hearn is solely focused on building his brand.

Ian Garry is focused on the long game, irrespective of the Dana White-Eddie Hearn beef

According to ‘The Future,’ it is still Vayner Sports and his long-time manager, Lloyd Pearson, that will handle all of his fight contracts under UFC.

“He (Pearson) is my only contact with the UFC,” he told Ariel Helwani. “And if Hunter [Campbell] and the UFC ever have a problem, they call me. There is no in-between. I am a man; I don’t need anybody else to do my work for me. I hired Lloyd to make sure he runs all the Xs, all the Os.

“This signing (with Hearn) has nothing to do with the UFC. It has nothing to do with my job inside the Octagon. It has everything to do with outside the Octagon. I want Eddie and Matchroom Talent Agency to do as much as they physically possibly can to get the most amount of attention on my name.”

Garry was able to avoid the toxic dynamic between the two sports moguls by keeping Eddie Hearn out of the UFC boardrooms completely. After all, it should be no big secret that Dana White wouldn’t like Hearn having direct involvement with a UFC talent’s fight future and negotiations.

However, at 28 years old, ‘The Future’ is entirely intent on the long game. He understands that elite skills within the cage are meaningless unless you’re actively creating a worldwide brand outside of it, and he sees Hearn as the perfect engine to boost his visibility in England, Ireland, and continental Europe.

“Outside of the sport, all I’m trying to do is bring the most attention to my name,” he continued. “Because there’s still a lot of people out there that don’t know who I am right now. And I want to make sure that between every fight, before every fight, more and more and more and more people know about me and see what I’m doing, because I have a decade of domination in this sport.”

So, when it comes to his fight future, Ian Garry doesn’t care who he ends up offending.

“There is beef at the moment between Dana White and Eddie Hearn,” he stated. “I don’t care for their beef. I don’t care for what their relationship is or what problems they have with each other. Outside of the sport, all I’m trying to do is bring the most attention to my name.”

With multiple much older champions at the top of the sport, Ian Garry sees an opportunity to create an era-defining legacy, starting with his title fight against Islam Makhachev in August. Also, the Irishman understands that he has around a good ten years or so to make as much money as possible before the sport retires him for good.

“I’m 28 years of age. We have two current champions right now that are 38 years of age, maybe more; might have three,” the Irishman added. “I have 10 years in this sport to dominate and have world title fight after world title fight, and the biggest, baddest rematches this sport could ever see.”

For ‘The Future,’ navigating the political crossfire between Dana White and Eddie Hearn is just business. As long as he continues to win fights, he is happy to let the promoters fight in the headlines while reaping the financial benefits from both sides.