‘More important’ – Ian Machado Garry reveals why silencing vile trolls isn’t on his mind as UFC 330 Makhachev bout nears

IAN MACHADO GARRY insists his showdown with Islam Makhachev is about fulfilling a lifetime’s work – not silencing his detractors and the trolls. In fact, ‘The Future’ cares little about what a vocal minority of the mixed martial arts fanbase is saying about him ahead of his date with destiny. Ian Machado Garry finally gets his first crack at UFC gold this weekend Credit: GETTY ‘The Future’ will challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title at UFC 330 Credit: Getty Garry will bid to become the new king of the welterweights against the fan favourite early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 330 in Philadelphia. As has been the case for the last few years, some of the bottom-feeders of social media have focused solely on the Irishman‘s personal life ahead of his first crack at UFC gold. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! It would be easy for Garry to go into the Philly punch-up fuelled by a desire to shut up those who have made aspects of his personal life a topic of conversation for clicks in the crassest of manners. But his motivation for victory this weekend, besides wanting to bring a near life-long dream to reality, is much closer to home. In an exclusive interview with SunSport, he said: “I understand what you’re trying to say and I’ll raise you one. “Rather than focus on how happy I would be to silence fans, which is your question, I think about how happy I will be to achieve my dreams. “How happy I will be to share the moments and create memories with my team that have helped me achieve a lifelong dream. That’s my focus. SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Ian Machado Garry’s private life has been the target of click-bait gossip and trolling ahead of his last few fights Credit: GETTY The Irishman, 28, cares little about the trolls and insists his first crack at UFC gold isn’t about signing the, Credit: GETTY “Not outside the world, not outside people and their opinions. They don’t know me, they don’t see the hard work. Most read in Sport “The people that are close to me, the people that are in this building, the people that have spit on the mats with me, “Creating memories with them and proving that we were right and [that] we did it together, that’s far more important.” Barring a decision defeat to former training partner Shavkat Rakhmonov, whom he fought on short notice, Garry’s stint in MMA‘s top promotion has gone exactly to plan. Now, he has the small matter of stopping one of the most dominant forces in the history of the sport in Makhachev. The Russian wrecking machine, the protege of the retired Khabib Nurmagomedov, became a two-weight champion with a shutout victory over Jack Della Maddalena last November. Makhachev, 34, is the sport’s current pound-for-pound king and on the brink of breaking Anderson Silva’s record for the most consecutive wins in UFC history, which stands at SIXTEEN. The Dagestani destroyer is at the peak of his powers and, at this moment in time, looks to have no equal. Islam Mkahachev is at the peak of his powers and on course to break the record for the most consecutive wins in UFC history Credit: GETTY Ian Machado Garry is relishing the prospect of being the man to end Makhachev’s run of dominance Credit: GETTY And while many would want an easier route to gold, the prospect of becoming champion by taking out one of the best to ever do it is something Garry is relishing. The 28-year-old said: “I believe this is the toughest task for a challenger to challenge for the world title in UFC history. “When you say all those accolades, and you talk about how he’s the greatest lightweight champion of all time, [how] he moved up the weight division and secured the double-champ status. “He has tied the 16 consecutive win streak of Anderson Silva and, if he can possibly find a way to beat me on Saturday night, he breaks that record. “We are talking about an athlete, a man who is at the peak of his career. He is living at the top of that mountain right now. “When you beat that guy, there’s no arguments, there is no doubt, and it’ll be undeniable that Ian Machado Garry is one of the greatest fighters of this generation.” Garry will undoubtedly thrust greatness upon himself should he stop Makhachev’s bid to further etch his name into the history books, especially if he secures the finish he’s putting himself under immense pressure to get. He said: “I will get my hand raised, but I would like to finish him. “Selfishly, as the fighter, as the person who I know I can be. And I know what I can do in that octagon.” Comment now