Michael Bisping Warns Ian Garry
Irish standout Ian Garry is set to take on Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
The two undefeated welterweight contenders will face eachother in the co-main event, with the headline act being Alexandre Pantoja vs. Kai Asakura.
Rakhmonov was initially set to headline the card against welterweight champion Belal Muhammad, until Muhammad withdrew to a bone infection in his foot.
With Muhammad pulling out, Garry stepped up to the task that is ‘Nomad’ – the biggest challenge of his career.
Ahead of UFC 310, former middleweight champion Michael Bisping has issued a stern warning to Garry regarding his upcoming fight.
Michael Bisping Talks Gameplan
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Bisping explained that it is a do or die situation for Garry.
The Englishman made it explicitly clear that if he cannot defend Rakhmonov’s takedowns, he will be finished.
He said: “If he can’t stop the takedown, he will get finished. That’s no disrespect to Ian Garry. He might be able to dance around, use the reach, use the range, use the movement. Be fast, be elusive, be nice and crisp, be light on your toes and be dedicated enough to not allow himself to get involved in a brawl.
“If he [gets into a brawl], Shavkat’s going to get ahold of him, if he gets ahold of him, he’s going to get him down. If he gets him down, it’s going to be lights out.”
Bisping substantiated this by pointing towards Rakmonov’s last Octagon outing, where he took on Stephen Thompson.
“Look at Shavkat’s last fight: Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, a man that’s spent his entire life stopping takedowns. But what did Shavkat do? Boxed his way into a clinch and then slowly but surely and methodically worked his way down.”
The question ultimately being posed by Bisping was whether or not Garry can stop the takedown, which we will find out in just a few weeks.
Garry/Rakhmonov Sparring Rumours
Both men have spent extensive time training at Kill Cliff FC under the tutorage of Henri Hooft.
During their time together at the gym, the two partook in sparring sessions. It has been said that Rakhmonov got the better of Garry during these – although only rumour.
Recently footage of the pair sparring was leaked on Twitter, adding to the speculation amongst fans.
The footage appears to show Garry finding considerable success on the feet against the Kazakhstani. Although one clip will never tell the full story.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
