If you were there when it happened, you cannot walk through the halls of the MGM Grand without remembering a sea of tricolours, the sing-songs and the passion of the travelling Irish support during Conor McGregor’s heyday.
From 2014 to 2017, on a McGregor fight week, the infamous Las Vegas strip felt like a tropical Henry Street. They travelled in their tens of thousands, routinely having multi-million dollar impacts on Sin City each time 'The Notorious' took to centerstage.
The UFC called it the 'Irish Takeover' in homage to the Irishman’s legendary post-fight call to action, "We’re not here to take part, we’re here to takeover", uttered after his knockout win over Diego Brandao in Dublin. The event projected McGregor around the world as an icon and was the foundation for his scintillating run to two UFC titles.
There’s a new Irishman in the UFC who is set to make his Sin City bow at UFC 276, the focal point of the promotion’s tenth annual International Fight Week.
Ian 'The Future' Garry has already notched two wins with the promotion in as many outings and should he make it three in a row, he will join a list of just three Irish fighters who have done so before – McGregor, Cathal Pendred and Norman Parke.
Yet, the resounding hype from Ireland that McGregor felt during his pomp has yet to be realised by the Malahide man.
Lofty Comparisons
Garry is arguably the most talent-rich Irish fighter that the UFC has seen since 'The Notorious'.
He remembers trying to crash into bars after hours on his holidays in Alicante, desperate to see McGregor's Las Vegas performances and wishing that someday he would be in the same spot.
Since the second he emerged in the Dana White promotion, the comparisons have been coming in thick and fast, not just by the UFC but from Garry himself. But to compare any fighter to McGregor – the biggest pay-per-view draw in the UFC’s history and the sport’s most transcendental superstar – seems a bit unfair.
"It’s like being a basketball player in college and being compared to Michael Jordan," Garry told RTÉ Sport.
"Everyone is going to compare him to the best to ever do it and someone who was a global superstar. Being compared to Conor McGregor is awesome, but people are naturally going to start thinking, 'why isn’t he on Conor McGregor’s level yet?’ That’s just part of it."
Just like his hero, Garry scored a devastating first round knockout in his UFC debut last November at Madison Square Garden. He had international heat overnight, only buoyed by McGregor’s online verification when Garry invited him to get involved in what he labelled "The Takeover Part Two".
Get ready for The Takeover part 2 🇮🇪
— UFC (@ufc) November 6, 2021
[ @IanGarryMMA | #UFC268 | Prelims NEXT on ESPNews & ESPN+ ] pic.twitter.com/WFUAHQrOLn
After McGregor’s debut, such was the explosion of interest in the Dubliner, he was a guest on The Late Late Show. Young men began to smash themselves into tight suits and tried to manicure their hair and beards in a similar fashion. Despite Garry’s explosive introduction to the Octagon in November, outside of the diehard MMA fans, he is still an unknown quantity in terms of the nation’s broader cultural conscience.
Relatability
'The Notorious' was like nothing Ireland had seen before.
In the depths of a recession, here was a young man realising his dream in a sport that the overwhelming majority of the nation had never heard of. The story of a former apprentice plumber who collected his dole on the way to making his promotional debut in Sweden, and ended up becoming a global superstar, reverberated with a whole generation of sports fans.
To contrast, by the time Garry came to prominence in the UFC, he had traded North Dublin for Florida. Via social media, he underlined how happy he was in his new homeland and boasted a brand new Tesla and regular trips to the state's immaculate golf courses in his spare time – a life that a lot of young Irish people simply cannot relate to.
"Some people might think I'm a privileged p***k," admitted Garry.
"When I left college to pursue MMA, I rang my uncle straightaway and asked for a job. I was working six days a week cleaning windows, working 6am to 2pm, training at night time, and I was very happy. But this is a different time now, so people just didn’t see that."
Homecoming
Although it's not something you’ll hear him share with his 170,000 thousand social media followers, Garry still yearns to be back in the Emerald Isle.
"I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been upset about leaving my apartment in Santry," he revealed.
"I know Florida has beautiful blue skies and palm trees, but sometimes I just miss my balcony in Santry, the cold hitting you when you walk outside and the glare of the neon on light from the pharmacy below it. It makes me very emotional, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat and cried because I miss home so much."
The 24-year-old is fully aware that he does not have planes full of his countrymen landing in Vegas this week with the sole purpose of seeing him fight. To be fair, by the time McGregor became the King of the Strip, he was fighting household names and working his way towards UFC titles, something that is a lot further down the road for Garry.
And it’s not just Garry that Ireland has to be sold on.
The country has a traumatic relationship with MMA. The sport has still to gain Government recognition following the well-publicised death of Joao Carvalho in the aftermath of an MMA bout in 2016. The once beloved McGregor is now one of the country’s most polarising figures, as well as its most recognisable international export.
Be that as it may, Garry is not giving up hope.
He fully anticipates improving his record to a perfect 10-0 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena when he faces his most difficult UFC counterpart to date, Gabe Green.
Following the McGregor playbook, he wants a star-making moment at home in Dublin to stimulate the Irish fan base. And if that means playing a supporting role to the man who inspired him to pursue his dream of becoming a UFC fighter, all the better.
"If I could bring the UFC back to Dublin, that would be phenomenal. But me and Conor on the same card in Ireland, that would be an experience that I could’ve never imagined. I think that’s something that a lot Irish people could get behind."
