Daniel Cormier warns Ian Garry's prediction risks backfire vs Islam Makhachev

Daniel Cormier thinks Ian Garry might be setting himself up for trouble with his approach to the Islam Makhachev title fight.

Garry has predicted a late stoppage when he challenges the lightweight champion in the UFC 330 main event at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia on Aug. 15, telling reporters he plans to display his full skillset before closing the show. Cormier, the former dual-weight titleholder, said on his YouTube channel that kind of thinking could lead to what he called "a very, very bad night or a bad result," per Sherdog.

Why Cormier thinks Garry should abandon the prediction

The Hall of Famer stressed that while Garry has the tools to win, trying to script how it happens — especially against the current pound-for-pound number one — is misguided. "It doesn't matter what happens if you beat the best fighter in the world across all weight classes," Cormier said. "It doesn't matter how you win. It only matters that you win." He added that whether Garry lands a fast knockout, locks in a submission, or grinds out a decision, the result itself is what counts, not whether observers dismiss it as a fluke.

Cormier encouraged the Irishman to drop the idea of calling his shot and trying to prove something by timing the finish. He acknowledged Garry can beat Makhachev but warned against walking into the cage with a fixed game plan for when and how the fight should end. "You've got to take that as it comes," he said. "You can't try to say, 'I want to beat the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world in a certain round because I don't want it to be a fluke.'"

Garry enters the bout as a sizable betting underdog, though recent upsets — Sean Strickland over Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 328 and Justin Gaethje's win against Ilia Topuria at UFC Freedom 250 — have shown that championship predictions don't always hold. The Irish welterweight contender reportedly sees those results as evidence that Makhachev's aura is beatable, but Cormier's message is clear: focus on the win, not the script.

Reported via:

• Sherdog — Daniel Cormier: Ian Garry's prediction could backfire against Islam Makhachev