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Ian Machado Garry has spent plenty of time talking up his own chances against Islam Makhachev, but he is not taking any shots at the man behind the champion\u2019s fighting education: Khabib Nurmagomedov, the former UFC lightweight champion.<\/p>\n
Garry challenges Makhachev for the UFC welterweight title in the UFC 330 main event on August 15 in Philadelphia. The Irish contender will face a fighter shaped by years alongside Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khabib\u2019s late father, Abdulmanap Nurmagomedov. Makhachev trained under Abdulmanap from a young age, while Khabib later became a close mentor and coach.<\/p>\n
Ariel Helwani backs Ian Machado Garry. [Image by @iangarry on Instagram]<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Khabib is one of the greatest fighters we\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d Garry said in an exclusive interview with LowKick MMA with the help of BetVictor Casino. \u201cKhabib stopped fighting for something much more important than fighting.\u201d Ahead of the championship clash, Garry gave Khabib his flowers.<\/p>\n
Nurmagomedov retired immediately after submitting Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 in October 2020. It was his first fight following the death of Abdulmanap, his father and longtime coach. Khabib said he had promised his mother that the Gaethje bout would be his last, then left the sport as UFC lightweight champion with a 29-0 professional record.<\/p>\n
Garry did not get caught up in the old debate about how much longer Nurmagomedov could have competed or what other achievements might have followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have been something more, or he might not have been,\u201d Garry said. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter. The reality is Khabib chose to step away from the sport because of things that were more important than the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a fair point from a man preparing to enter a difficult corner of the MMA family tree. Nurmagomedov won all 13 of his UFC bouts, captured the lightweight belt by beating Al Iaquinta in 2018, and defended it against Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and Gaethje. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame after closing his career without a defeat.<\/p>\n
Makhachev has said he is not following Nurmagomedov into a quick retirement after UFC 330, saying he wants to remain active and chase more records. First, though, he has to get past Garry, an opponent who respects the legacy but plans to interrupt its next chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can only judge him off what he\u2019s done,\u201d Garry said. \u201cTwenty-nine and zero in the sport is pretty impressive. A UFC world champion is pretty impressive. The man has never bled his own blood inside that Octagon. It\u2019s pretty impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can say what you want, whether you like him or whether you don\u2019t,\u201d Garry said. \u201cKhabib is one of the greatest fighters we\u2019ve ever seen in the Octagon. End of.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mandatory Credit: Giuseppe Cacace \u2013 AFP<\/p>\n