At this point, Ian Garry reflects what a prime Conor McGregor actually looked like. Besides the tattoos, Garry’s mic skills, striking-based fighting style, and pride in representing his country embody nearly every quality that made ‘The Notorious’ a global superstar. Still, there was a time when Garry faced doubts even from those closest to him, including his own mother. 

In a recent appearance on the High Performance podcast, Garry opened up about how his mother, Suzanne, once wrote on a piece of paper that becoming the next Conor McGregor was not a plan after he made it clear that he wanted to pursue MMA while studying in college.  

“My mum was only doing what she believed to be correct as a mother, and I cannot fault her for doing what she did,” Garry said. “Telling me that being the next Conor McGregor is not a f—g plan. Wrote down words on a piece of paper. I wanted to follow… I was in college. I only went to college to please my mum. ‘Ian, please go to college. Your sister didn’t go. I don’t know if your brother’s going to go’. 

“I was the middle child. Can you please go? Because I want you to go to college. You need to get a degree to succeed in this world. You need to go to college, then get a good job, and it sets you up for…”  

In 2017, Ian Garry was a student at the Dublin Institute of Technology, pursuing a degree in retail and service management. But like many Irish MMA fans, he was drawn to the sport by the success of his countryman, Conor McGregor, in the UFC. The difference was that Garry quickly realized this was the path he wanted to choose for himself, and that realization came when he was just 19 years old. 

Soon after, a young Ian Garry began taking MMA classes in Ireland without his mother knowing. When she eventually found out, Suzanne was furious. But her determined son continued training despite the dismay of his mother, who wanted him to focus on his education and secure his academic future. Expressing her disappointment, Garry’s mother wrote him a four-page letter questioning his dream and included the blunt words, “Being the next Conor McGregor is not a f—g plan.”

Many fans may find the Irishman’s admission surprising, but this is not the first time he has spoken about his mother doubting his ambitions. Garry previously opened up about the story in an interview with ESPN back in 2022.

Now, after years of hard work, Ian Garry is set to face Islam Makhachev for the welterweight championship at UFC 330 in Philadelphia. If he triumphs in that bout, Garry could undoubtedly establish himself as Ireland’s next major MMA superstar after Conor McGregor.

But while we will find out soon enough whether Garry can achieve that feat, he is not the only UFC fighter who faced skepticism from his mother while chasing his dream. 

Philipe Lins opens up about facing doubts from his Mother, much like Ian Garry 

Just like Ian Garry, former UFC fighter Philipe Lins also found himself on the receiving end of doubts from his mother. However, the Brazilian’s mother was primarily concerned about whether MMA could provide her son with a stable career. According to Lins, the little money he earned from his early MMA fights did not impress his mother, who eventually pushed him to return to school.

“My mom didn’t like it,” Lins told MMA Fighting. “She accepts it now, she knows that’s how I make a living, this is my job. I quit studying when I started fighting, and my mom wanted me to get a job because I was paid so little in MMA, only 200 or 300 reais [$37 to 55] per fight, and she saw no future in this. She wanted me to drop this life and go back to school.”

Lins later revealed that he actually worked for his uncle for a while to make ends meet. However, once his fighting career took off and he began earning decent money, his mother gradually became more accepting of his decision to pursue MMA.

“I started getting paid in dollars, making more money, got married, and was able to provide a better life to my family,” Lins added. “That’s when she started to accept the fact that I was a MMA fighter, that this would be my career. But she still doesn’t watch my fights, she only knows the result.”

That said, as we can understand from both Garry’s and Lins’ experiences, parents can understandably have concerns about their children pursuing careers in professional sports, especially when financial stability is far from guaranteed. But as both fighters demonstrated, hard work, dedication, and a little persistence can go a long way.