UFC star to his stable.
Welterweight contender Ian Garry
announced that he has signed with Matchroom Talent Agency, the
company run by Hearn, ahead of his title shot against Islam
Makhachev at UFC
330 on Aug. 15.
“Congratulations Matchroom Talent Agency you’ve signed the future,”
Garry wrote on Instagram. “I’m excited to announce Team Future just
got bigger. Alongside Vayner Sports, I’ll be joining The Matchroom
Talent Agency – who will now work across my commercial
interests.”
Earlier this year, UFC heavyweight champion Tom
Aspinall signed with Matchroom. The deals differ in the fact
that Garry’s agreement is only for marketing and commercial; the
Irishman is still represented by Vayner Sports for management.
Aspinall, meanwhile, is represented by Matchroom in all aspects of
his career. In recent months, Hearn has engaged in a bitter feud
with UFC CEO Dana White, as the two men often trade jabs online and
in interviews.
“Our relationship is different from Tom’s in that we were a lot
more strategic with Tom the UFC side now,” Hearn said on “The
Ariel Helwani Show.” “With Ian, this is comercially. This is
about building his brand and driving revenue to him with partners.
This is purely to work on his profile and his commercial brand.
We’re really, really pleased to do it.”
Garry has won 10 of his 11 UFC appearances and is coming off
back-to-back triumphs over Belal
Muhammad and Carlos
Prates. According to Hearn, Garry is a valuable addition to his
agency for myriad reasons.
Superstar Attributes
“We’re a sports agency. We’re looking to represent high-profile,
global stars across sport and entertainment, not MMA,” Hearn said.
“But of all the approaches that we’ve had, and I don’t think Ian
was an approach, I’ve actually reached out to him because I know
his team and everybody around him. I look at this guy for a long
time, and I love his spirit. I love his personality. He’s a good
looking, tall guy who speaks incredibly well. I long felt this guy
has the attributes to be a superstar.
“As I learned more about the sport, how good he is, we met, we had
a lot of good, deep conversations and talked a lot of strategy. He
then of course finally secured the fight and particularly with our
work in understanding the country, the audience, and how passionate
they are for their own, I just felt this was the guy that we wanted
to bring to the team.”