Irish prospect Ian Garry looked to continue his winning ways at UFC 276 on Saturday night.
Having won his first nine fights as a pro, “The Future” had been paired up with the game “Gifted” Gabe Green, who rode a two-fight win streak into the fight.
Green had suggested in advance of the pair’s welterweight showdown that Garry wasn’t as good as he thought he was. Garry had countered that many of his past opponents had similarly dismissed him.
Round one began with Green putting on the forward pressure, trying to close off the cage with his game-plan becoming clear early on. Garry found himself with his back to the cage, throwing a right high kick and exploding with combos. Midway through the round, one of Garry’s explosive combos allowed for him to get the fight back to the centre of the Octagon. Despite that, “Gifted” Gabe Green did an extremely good job of cutting off the cage and put back on the forward pressure.
“The Future” started to find his distance and timing, and threw a beautiful 1-2 combo, bloodying the nose of the 29-year-old. With just 10 seconds left, Garry started flowing like water, popping out a left and right, followed by a high kick, all while being extremely elusive with the first round going his way.
Round two saw some more Gabe Green pressure, only to be momentarily floored by an inside low kick by Garry. Again, the Irishman found a home for the right high kick, landing it at will. Not long after the start of the round, an unintentional eye poke by Gary gave Gabe Green a 10 second breather.
Green’s grappling came out to play midway through round two, however, he found himself being fully mounted after trying to trip Garry. The lightening fast Irishman got the fight back on the feet and once again, and threw his piston of a right hand at the end of another beautiful combo. Green began trying to make the end of round two ugly for Garry, as it was clear Garry was now two rounds up on the scorecard, and at the end of the round, Green caught Gary with a big right hand whilst putting on some last seconds of forward pressure.
At the beginning of round three, Garry connected with a right cross, dropping Gabe Green but “Gifted” got back to his feet and initiated the grappling. After trying but failing to get the fight to the mat, Garry connected with a high knee off the break. The low calf kick became a weapon of choice that Green found himself throwing consistently throughout the third round, ultimately trying to contain the viscous striking from Garry. Through 15 minutes, Garry did extremely well throwing his combo’s and then getting out of range, not allowing Green to throw any counter shots.
After a relatively comfortable 15 minutes, Garry moved to 10-0, with his spotless record continuing.
Official Result: Ian Garry Def. Gabe Green by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
