All on me in McGregor's absence - Machado Garry

Ian Machado Garry had taken a short holiday to play some golf when he heard the news.

Without his phone to "disconnect from the world and spend time with his family", the 26-year-old was unaware of a big story breaking in his hometown, Dublin.

It was before the drive back home that his wife turned to him, revealing Conor McGregor had pulled out of his fight at UFC 303 through injury.

Machado Garry's dream of fighting on the same card as his compatriot was over.

"It would have been a real full circle moment, from that young kid in Dublin who would sit at home and study his fights, to be sat on the same stage as him in Vegas, signing the same posters as him, entering into that same octagon as him," Machado Garry told BBC Sport.

"It would have been like ‘well done kid, you did’ it. You're both flying the flag for your country, we would have been representing Ireland on the biggest stage possible."

From the moment in March when former double champion McGregor's return had been confirmed by the UFC, Machado Garry has been vocal about competing on the same card, targeting a bout with Colby Covington.

That fight never materialised, with a welterweight bout with Britain's Michael 'Venom' Page being confirmed at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday instead.

Machado Garry cursed when his wife first told him, but during the hour-and-a-half drive back home, he began to see an upside to the "upsetting news" of McGregor's injury.

"If anything now, go out there and do it for the Irish even more so," said Machado Garry.

"I’m still here. And if anything the Irish deserve my performance to be bigger and better now because of the expectation of coming to see a Conor fight.

"Everything he is, is on me now. I’ll carry that flag. I have no problem bearing that burden. Pop it on my back, let’s go and I’ll show the world.”

A number of fighters have been compared to the 35-year-old McGregor over the years, whose title wins at featherweight and lightweight, coupled with his brash personality, helped expose the UFC to a wider audience around nine years ago.

Although a selection of athletes have matched and arguably surpassed McGregor's achievements inside the octagon, no one has got close to his star power and recognisability outside the sport.

"Conor is the person, he will bring the general public’s attention to a fight. He’s just so intelligent the way he talks and builds a fight - he’s an entertainer," said Machado Garry.

"He’s the best fighter to ever step foot in that octagon.

"Do I think it’s a case of is anybody ever going to be like Conor? No. Conor is one of one, there’s never going to be another Conor McGregor."

But that doesn't mean Machado Garry, who is unbeaten in his 14-fight career, doesn't believe a fighter can achieve similar levels of success to McGregor.

"Do I think McGregor can be replicated? Let’s bring it to a different example. There was a Pele, there was a [Diego] Maradona, there was a Cristiano Ronaldo and then there was a [Lionel] Messi," said Machado Garry.

"There’s always going to be someone else who will be the greatest fighter or the most elite athlete we’ve seen that really does take over the sport. It’s inevitable there will be another fighter who’s going to do that."

And Machado Garry, who is seventh in the UFC welterweight rankings after winning seven fights since his 2021 debut in the organisation, believes he can be the man to emulate McGregor's success.

"Because of my personality, because of the way I am as a father, a human, a husband, everything I do is real, is true," said Machado Garry.

"And when you be you, and are truly and unapologetically you, the world sees that and they connect to it. I’m not putting on a show, or a false narrative.

"So absolutely it will happen and I believe in the next year or two I can be that next star."