Ian Machado Garry believes fighting at welterweight is key to helping Conor McGregor beat Max Holloway.
McGregor (22-6 MMA, 10-4 UFC) returns after a five-year layoff to rematch Holloway (27-9 MMA, 23-9 UFC) in the UFC 329 main event on July 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
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McGregor’s first fight with Holloway took place at featherweight in 2013, when McGregor won by unanimous decision. Holloway will be making his 170-pound debut against McGregor, who has already competed three times at that weight class.
“It’s not an easy fight,” Machado Garry said on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “Max is very good at what he does. He’s obviously been in there against the best guys in the world repeatedly over and over and over again. But, whilst Conor has been inactive, the hunger will start to thrive in his mind and in his skull. And at 170 pounds, I think this fight is very, very interesting. Conor is going to have the knockout power.”
Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC), who challenges Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the UFC 330 headliner on Aug. 15 in Philadelphia, broke down the differences in McGregor and Holloway’s striking approaches.
“Max Holloway is more like an Uzi when he fights,” Machado Garry said. “The consistency, the significant strike numbers he has are out of this world. It’s always in your face. It’s constant movement. It’s touch, touch, go. Touch, touch, move, advance. It’s constant activity. But he doesn’t have that one-punch power, that shotgun. That’s what Conor has.
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“Conor has always had that shotgun. If that left hand lands, it’s game over, and he is laser focused with it. … If one of them lands, fight’s over. If I’m Conor, and I’m walking into that first round and I enter the middle of that octagon and Max hasn’t started to instantly put the pace on him, I’d walk his ass down. I’d put his back to the cage, I’d go high, I’d go low, I’d keep him guessing, and I’d put everything straight down the middle. Just boom, and sneak one around the corner when he doesn’t expect it. That’s it, goodnight. It’s a good fight for both of them. When you look at the state of the UFC over the last couple of months, you can’t say that anybody is going to win.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Ian Machado Garry: Conor McGregor ‘absolutely’ can beat Max Holloway
