Ian Machado Garry denies speaking to Tom Aspinall before Matchroom Talent Agency signing
Both Ian Machado Garry and Tom Aspinall have signed with Matchroom Talent Agency, but the Irishman asserts that he didn't need any prior convincing from Aspinall to do so.
Ian Machado Garry recently signed with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Talent Agency. While speaking to Ariel Helwani on The Ariel Helwani Show, 'The Future' touched on his decision to sign with Hearn's agency and revealed that no prior conversation with UFC heavyweight champion and fellow signee Tom Aspinall took place. He also downplayed the growing rift between Hearn and UFC CEO Dana White.
Ian Machado Garry separates himself from Tom Aspinall
A topic that will always come up whenever a UFC fighter signs with Eddie Hearn's talent agency is his ongoing feud with Dana White. The two men have traded insults in the media for some time now, causing their previous friendship to sour. Naturally, Ian Machado Garry, a UFC fighter, was asked about the feud in his interview with Ariel Helwani. 'The Future,' however, dismissed it as irrelevant (11:29):
"Their relationship, their beef has nothing to do with me. That's between them two."
The next question he was asked revolved around Tom Aspinall, who is also signed with Matchroom Talent Agency, and has a much frostier relationship with White than does Garry. This stems largely from the perceived disrespect and lack of support Aspinall felt from White following the eye poke scandal that led to a no-contest in his UFC 321 heavyweight title defense against Ciryl Gane. However, when Helwani asked Garry whether he spoke to Aspinall before signing with Hearn, Garry made it clear that he hadn't (11:42):
"No, because I believe that me and Tom Aspinall are in very, very different situations right now. 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've wanted. I'm happy with everything that I've negotiated and argued and agreed with, with the UFC. I'm not looking for anything else right now."
Garry is more focused on UFC 330, where he challenges Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event. It also marks the toughest fight of Garry's career, as Makhachev is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and presents a well-rounded threat that the Irishman has rarely faced.
