Michael Chandler goes to the Sanford MMA in Deerfield Beach, Florida, and trains under the legend, Henri Hooft. Chandler shares the gym with the young fighter, Ian Garry who made his UFC debut at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden. Garry made his move from Ireland to Sanford MMA this summer and regarded it as a no-brainer for MMA training. In his first-ever UFC bout, Garry defeated Jordan Williams via TKO. Now it seems like the young fighter has been taking mentoring from Michel Chandler.
In a recent interview with ESPN MMA, the former Bellator champion revealed that it was natural for the fighter to help Garry from the start. According to Chandler, when Garry came it was a surprise and after a few conversations with him, Chandler was up for the job. Chandler shared that he immediately connected with the young Irish and saw an image of himself 10 years down the line in Garry. “Even Ian himself has the same mindset and he is on a trajectory to the moon..I think he will be the world champion,” said Chandler.
Chandler explained that one of the most underrated skills in MMA is to be able to learn from coaches and Garry does it impressively. “If you have an open mind and he has..I think he has really enjoyed and taken advantage of anything we have at Sanford,” said Chandler.
“He checks all these boxes”- Michael Chandler admires Ian Garry’s skill set
Chandler also admired Garry for having every quality that an aspiring MMA fighter should have. It included Garry’s body type, physical attributes, experience, and most importantly the confidence to defeat opponents. “Sharing the same room with him, being in those conversations with him… the compounding effect of day after day..it showed he checks all these boxes,” said Chandler.
Before joining UFC, Garry was a Welterweight Champion in London-based MMA promotion, Cage warriors. With a dominating victory streak and impressive potential, Garry was signed by UFC last summer. Garry got the opportunity to make his UFC debut against Jordan Williams. The Irishman instantly took control over his opponent and started punishing him from the start. The bout was won by Garry via a TKO in the very last minutes in the first round.
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