Ian Machado Garry‘s popularity among fans has been on a downward spiral since the controversy around his wife, Layla, erupted last year. Fans accused the former journalist, nine years his senior and author of the book ‘How to be a WAG’, of having used manipulative tactics to ‘trap’ Garry. While the Irishman and his wife have denied these allegations as baseless, he admitted prior to his UFC 298 clash against Geoff Neal that the criticism around his wife had taken a toll on him mentally,

It was not surprising, to see that there were questions around how the controversy would affect his performance prior to his split decision victory. The undefeated fighter put all such questions to rest with a clinical if somewhat underwhelming performance. And Garry joined Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour Show to discuss how one important aspect of his game plan, which some criticized as not aggressive enough, was inspired by a lesson he learned from one of the world’s biggest soccer managers.

Ian Garry inspired by Pep Guardiola

Speaking to the journalist about the Geoff Neal bout, Ian Garry revealed that he had made it a point to remain kinetic and move constantly to throw off Neal’s rhythm. He credited this to a documentary of Manchester City and former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, who has won three Champions League and ten league titles.

Guardiola is known for his short pass and possession-heavy ‘Tiki-Taka’ style of football. Garry told Helwani that his game plan for the Neal fight was inspired partly by a documentary he saw on the soccer manager.

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“I don’t know if you know Pep Guardiola. I was watching his documentary on BBC and he was talking about how handball influenced his way of playing football. And the fact that it’s harder to get the ball than it is to maintain possession. So if we can maintain the possession, we can score easy,”  he said.

‘The One’ stated that this inspired him to stay moving to make it difficult for Neal to hit him. “It’s the same with fighting. If you’re harder to hit, then it’s harder for your opponent to have success of your constantly moving and being fast and fidgety and lightning quick, Geoff can’t have success,” Garry added.

The Irishman took his undefeated streak to fourteen fights with his UFC 298 victory over the dangerous Neal and has called for a match against one of the welterweight division’s biggest stars.

Garry wants to fight ‘Chaos’ next

Despite the unpopularity of his wife, Layla, Ian Garry walked out to fight Neal to the tune of Eric Clapton’s rock anthem ‘Layla’, clearly in support of his wife. After his victory, Garry called for a match against Colby Covington in the Octagon interview with Joe Rogan.

Garry remained defiant despite fans booing him, promising to become champion. “I’m living the dream. Whatever you guys say, whatever you think, it means f*** all. I’m here. I’m going to be a champion whether you guys want it or not,” Garry declared.

What do you think about Garry’s post-fight comments but mostly his new trick for UFC 298?

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