The show must go on.
Unbeaten Irishman Ian Machado Garry will now face veteran welterweight Neil Magny at next weekend’s UFC 292 event in Boston, it has been confirmed on Thursday. The late switch comes after his original opponent, Geoff Neal, was forced to withdraw from the card due to undisclosed health reasons.
Geoff Neal has bitched out… I will still show up in Boston august 19th pic.twitter.com/b18fEq2P8z
— “The Future” Ian Machado Garry (@iangarryMMA) August 9, 2023
“Geoff Neal is a b*tch,” Garry said in a video posted to social media. “What is God showing me right now? Is this God giving me what I initially asked for?”
Garry had called for a fight with Magny following his impressive first-round finish of Daniel Rodriguez in May but UFC matchmakers opted to pair him with Neal instead. But with that bout having fallen apart, it appears as the the Dubliner is set to get his wish in front of what is expected to be a fiercely partisan crowd in his favour in Boston’s TD Garden next weekend.
New opponent!@NeilMagny steps in to face @IanGarryMMA at #UFC292 next week! pic.twitter.com/Usy9r1sKo9
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) August 10, 2023
On Wednesday, Magny pubished an image of him appearing to sign a UFC bout agreement, writing: “When an opportunity of a lifetime presents itself, my must act within the lifetime of that opportunity.”
Garry has been flawless in his UFC career to date. He has won each of his five bouts in Octagon (12-0 overall), earning three finishes in that spell.
Magny, meanwhile, has alternated wins and losses in his past four — with those two defeats coming against Garry’s Kill Cliff FC training partners Shavkat Rakhmanov and Gilbert Burns.
