Daniel Cormier urges Ian Machado Garry to ditch current mindset ahead of UFC 330 fight against Islam Makhachev

Daniel Cormier isn’t so sure that Ian Machado Garry is approaching his first UFC title fight the right way.

Garry recently spoke on challenging Islam Makhachev for the welterweight gold at UFC 330 on Aug. 15. “The Future” told Matchroom that he would rather defeat Makhachev in the later rounds than score an early finish because it would prove that he is the superior fighter. This mindset has left Cormier puzzled.

In a fresh video upload on YouTube, the UFC Hall of Famer questioned why Garry feels a quick victory over the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world wouldn’t be satisfying (via MMAJunkie).

“I would encourage him to let go of the idea that you want to call your shot, and you call your shot later in the fight so that people don’t have an opinion of what happened,” Cormier said. “It doesn’t matter what happens if you beat the best fighter in the world across all weight classes pound-for-pound. It doesn’t matter how you win. It only matters that you win. And if Ian Garry wins by a fast knockout, if Ian Garry wins by submission, or if Ian Garry wins by a decision, it doesn’t matter.”

Following victories over the likes of Belal Muhammad and Carlos Prates, Garry feels confident that he can pull off the upset against Makhachev, who hasn’t been defeated since 2015. Both Garry and Makhachev have just one pro MMA loss on their resume with “The Future’s” occurring at the hands of Shavkat Rakhmonov back in late 2024.

Garry has gone 2-0 since the defeat to Rakhmonov with the aforementioned victories over Muhammad and Prates. Makhachev has gone a staggering 16-0 since his last defeat, and he’s looking to make his first welterweight title defense a successful one.

Do you agree with Daniel Cormier encouraging Ian Machado Garry to ditch the mindset of not wanting an early finish over Islam Makhachev? Is Garry simply hyping up the fight? Let us know what you think in the comments below.