Conor McGregor has opened the door to an all-Irish fight with Ian Machado Garry, saying he would be ready to face him if Garry beats Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 on August 15. The comment came at the UFC 329 press conference, putting Garry's title shot and McGregor's return on the same timeline.
The reason the moment is drawing attention is simple: McGregor and Garry are tied on 10 UFC victories each, and McGregor made clear he is willing to meet Garry next if the younger fighter gets through the championship test first. He said there was “no problem” with the matchup and added that he wished Garry well, a public endorsement that also carried the edge of a challenge.
Garry is not asking for a future fight just yet. He is first scheduled to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title, a belt now held by the 170-pound champion, at UFC 330. That makes the McGregor talk secondary for the moment, even if it may be the more marketable fight waiting on the other side of August 15.
McGregor also said he had previously trained alongside Garry, which gives the idea of a future meeting a sharper edge than a simple callout between strangers. He said he would not go back to lightweight to challenge Justin Gaethje and instead spoke about becoming a three-division champion, while also saying he has already held the 155lb unified UFC world title. That leaves him looking upward in weight and outward for bigger options.
For Garry, the bigger picture still runs through Dublin. He has said he wants to bring the UFC back to Croke Park and back to Dublin, casting himself as part of the next wave of Irish MMA. McGregor's willingness to entertain a fight with him only adds to that storyline, because it links the sport's most famous Irish star with one of the country's fastest-rising names.
The obstacle is timing. McGregor said he would face Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 329 after a five-year absence from the Octagon, and Garry must first beat Islam Makhachev before any Irish-versus-Irish showdown can be taken seriously. For now, the fight that exists is the one on August 15. The one after that depends on whether Garry can turn McGregor's public interest into a real opening.
