Ireland’s Ian Machado Garry will look to extended his undefeated mixed martial arts record on Saturday, 19 August at Boston’s TD Garden when he faces eighth-ranked welterweight contender Geoff Neal at UFC 292.
UFC confirmed the booking to RTÉ Sport on Wednesday.
Garry (12-0-0) has put together a stellar run since joining the Dana White promotion, claiming victory in five straight bouts since his debut in November 2021, which took place at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden venue.
The Malahide man is considered one of the best prospects in the sport and put forth his most impressive performance to date in his last outing, finishing celebrated slugger Daniel Rodriguez in the first round of their clash to earn himself a place among the 170-pound elite.
The victory saw Garry become the first Irish fighter since Conor McGregor to score five consecutive wins in the Octagon.
Neal (15-5-0), now in his fifth year with the UFC, will be Garry’s sternest test to date.
The American has claimed wins over a number of celebrated welterweights, including Belal Muhammad, Mike Perry, Santiago Ponzinibbio, and most recently, Vicente Luque - a team-mate of Garry’s - who he stopped in the third round of their meeting in August.
In his last visit to the Octagon in March, Neal gave one of the best up-and-coming fighters on the UFC’s roster, Shavkat Rakhmonov, the toughest test of his promotional tenure before being submitted in the third round.
With a win, the Dubliner will likely solidify his place among the UFC’s top-10 welterweights.
Boston’s TD Garden has been a great venue for Irish MMA in the past.
Back in January 2015, the home of the Boston Celtics hosted Conor McGregor’s stoppage of Denis Siver, with Cathal Pendred and Paddy Holohan scoring decision wins over Sean Spencer and Shane Howell on the same night.
Considering Neil was his last opponent, having Shavkat as a training partner will serve Garry well for this fight.
Ian Garry has improved so much since joining the UFC. It’s been pretty cool to watch and this fight seems like an appropriate matchup for him.
Hope ian gets his shit smashed in
Stylistically a great match up for Ian and thats probably why they made the fight happen.
UFC is in desperate need of big names.
UFC has really run Neal through the gauntlet.This guy was waiting tables a few years ago, training part time, but has had to fight almost every killer in WW division.
War Neal!! Any man that takes his ole ladies ex boyfriends last name needs their shit pushed in
Big step up in talent
Big step up for Ian! I love this matchup and it will really show us how good he is.
Hype train might have just reached the end of it’s line.