Ian Machado Garry will be facing Geoff Neal at UFC 298 this weekend. However, aside from his fight, the fighter has been commenting on different issues he’s involved with in his recent interviews. With this, UFC CEO Dana White has to remind the Irish fighter who the real enemy is this weekend.
It is undeniable that Garry has a rough relationship with various UFC fighters, including Colby Covington, Sean Strickland, Neil Magny, and even Neal. In the past months, the fighter has been commenting on some issues he’s been associated with, including the hate he’s receiving online from Strickland’s fans. The fighter, nonetheless, is trying to be positive about this, even thanking Strickland’s fans for making his merch sales grow.
While this might be a good move for Garry, White thinks spending time to even respond to any of those is pointless. For the executive, it only distracts the fighter from what really matters: his actual octagon fight.
“I think it was messing with him for a little while there, but, you know… when you’re in this business, you have to get to a point where you block out all that bull****,” White said in an interview with Kevin Iole. “Who cares what the internet is saying or what the media is saying? Focus on what you need to do and focus on — Geoff Neal is what you need to worry about on Saturday night.”
Garry made his UFC debut in 2021, and his impressive six-fight winning streak and clean UFC record have made him one of the most promising talents in the promotion. White is aware of this and believes that another win could bring Garry up the ranking and give him a fight against Colby Covington, Shavkat Rakhmonov, Gilbert Burns, and more. Neal, nonetheless, won’t be an easy fight, so the executive wants “The Future” to see what would be prioritized.
“It’s a tough fight for him, this fight here,” White continued. “If he can beat Geoff Neal, he’ll probably be ranked #7 in the world after this fight, and then he’s on his way,” White continued. “Talking doesn’t mean s***, the internet doesn’t mean s***, it’s time to get serious and start fighting some really tough dudes in the welterweight division.”
