‘Superstar’ Ian Machado Garry claims he (not Sean O’Malley) is carrying UFC 292 - ‘I’m glad fans get to watch me’

UFC 292 is set to invade TD Garden in Boston, Mass., this Saturday night (Aug., 19, 2023), featuring a pair of world title fights. Headlining the event will be a Bantamweight title fight as division champion, Aljamain Sterling, will defend his belt against fan-favorite, Sean O’Malley. In the pay-per-view (PPV) co-main event, women’s Strawweight champion, Zhang Weili, will defend her title against Amanda Lemos.

But, according to Ian Machado Garry, despite the star power atop of the card he is the main attraction of the evening tasked to save the struggling show.

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MASSIVE MIDDLEWEIGHT MATCH! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) makes its highly anticipated return to Sydney, Australia, for the first time in five years on Sat., Sept. 9, 2023, with a 185-pound world title fight inside Qudos Bank Arena. In the ESPN+-streamed pay-per-view (PPV) main event, Middleweight roost-ruler, Israel Adesanya, plans to silence No. 5-seeded contender, Sean Strickland. In UFC 293’s hard-hitting Heavyweight co-main event, No-6-ranked fan favorite, Tai Tuivasa, locks horns with towering Russian, Alexander Volkov (No. 8).

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“I believe that I am carrying this 292 card on my back, and that if it wasn’t for me, this card would go down the drain,” Machado Garry said on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting). “With the opponent change and everything, at the end of the day, I’m just happy the fans get to see me, because I know there’s a lot of Irish and Brazilian support in Boston that are excited to have me there. I’m glad the fans get to watch me live in action.”

Since “Beantown” is rich with Irish culture, Garry feels that because he hails from Ireland that is reason enough to get him the biggest pop of the evening and significant local support.

“For sure,” Garry said. “I’m Irish — I’m fighting in Boston. They have a massive Irish contingent. I’ve just been in Brazil the last 2.5 months, [and] the biggest contingent of Brazilians is in Massachusetts and Boston.

“This is the stage, the platform where I go in there, and you say it, you’ve got the likes of Sean O’Malley and Aljamain and all these guys, that I’m the superstar on the card,” Garry continued. “It happened in the last fight, it’s happening this fight, the wheels are in motion. I just have to show up and do my thing, and the world will see.”

Garry was initially set to face Geoff Neal before “Handz of Steel” was forced out with undisclosed health issues. Stepping in to fill the void is long-time veteran, Neil Magny, who is out to burst Garry’s bubble (and ego) by handing him his first-ever defeat.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 292 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 292: “Sterling vs. O’Malley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.