Ian Garry has quickly become one of the most talked-about names in the UFC’s welterweight division! The Irishman made his UFC debut in 2021 after going undefeated as a professional and winning the ‘Cage Warriors’ welterweight title. Currently holding a 14-0 record, Garry has maintained his spotless record in the UFC and is ranked no. 7 in the welterweight division. In past interviews, he has revealed that it was the success of his countryman, Conor McGregor, that inspired Garry to begin his journey into mixed martial arts.

Recently, a video of Garry’s son impersonating famous UFC fighters has gone viral on the internet and fans were left stunned at ‘The Future’ talking to his son in Portuguese. As such, let’s take a look at all we know about how and when the Irish MMA star managed to learn another language.

When did Ian Garry learn Portuguese?

Ian Garry was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland and, as such, his first language is English. In an interview with the UFC, Garry revealed that he began training in boxing when he was just 10 years old and after Conor McGregor’s spectacular rise put MMA on the map in Ireland, he decided to add Judo to his game and became a black-belt in the sport by the time he turned 18.

‘The Future’ began his MMA training at ‘Team KF Martial Arts’ in his hometown but later switched to ‘Team Renegade’, UFC welterweight champion Leon Edward’s Birmingham gym, where his issues with the gym’s culture forced him to make a switch once again to ‘Kill Cliff FC’ in Florida in 2021.

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In 2023, however, Garry made a switch yet again as he joined the ‘Chute Boxe’ gym under Diego Lima in Brazil, home of former lightweight champion, Charles Oliveira. And so, Garry began to learn Portuguese to communicate with his Brazilian teammates and coaches. In an interview with Sportsnet, Garry revealed, “The energy Diego Lima has created around Chute Boxe, and the energy that every single person that walks into that building has and possesses is a different energy than anything I’ve experienced in the world”.

In the same interview Garry had also indicated that while he has been working hard to learn Portuguese, he is still far from fluent in the language but because it has now been quite a while since the February 2024 conversation, ‘The Future’ may have considerably improved his Portuguese.

Garry has also been compared to Conor McGregor because of their similar origins and fighting style, however, fans have leveled criticism against the young welterweight for attempting to ‘copy’ the Irish MMA icon. As such, ahead of his UFC 303 bout, Garry came out and gave an interesting response to the comparisons and criticism.

Garry shuts down Conor McGregor ‘copycat’ claims  

At UFC 303 media day, Ian Garry addressed the comments about him ‘copying’ Conor McGregor by using an analogy to basketball legends Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Garry stated that while he is inspired by McGregor, he is focused on building his own legacy in the sport.

‘The Future’ went on to claim, “How many people talked about Kobe Bryant trying to be like Michael Jordan? Kobe Bryant went out and made a legacy of his own. Kobe Bryant went out and made a legacy of his own in his own way, but having similar traits and styles to Jordan.”

As Garry prepares to step into the cage against Michael Page, his focus remains on proving his unique talent and determination and showing the MMA sphere that he is more than just a McGregor copycat—he is ‘The Future’ of the sport!

Do you think the fighter can continue his undefeated streak at UFC 303? Drop your predictions for the mega event in the comments below.