issue 220

August 2025

Before championship belts were on the line, the world's greatest fighters were locked in their own battles. Isaac Barnett delves into the gritty and inspiring MMA origin stories that forged these warriors into the legends they are today.

IAN MACHADO GARRY – INSPIRED BY GREATNESS

Ian Garry was born on November 17, 1997, in Portmarnock, a coastal suburb of Dublin, Ireland. He was raised by his parents, Edwin and Moria Garry, and his father was a former rugby player. Garry played multiple traditional Irish sports during his youth, including football.  He found himself immersed in the world of fighting incredibly quickly after his father unknowingly introduced him to boxing, the sport that shaped Garry's childhood. Speaking on Kickin' It with Liam Harrison, Garry talked about his first introduction. 

"My dad brought me to a boxing gym to see some friends, and to have a look around, and I remember saying to my dad, 'Dad, I really want to punch someone in the face, can I do boxing?' He told me that he would try and sort something out for me, so we went back, and they told me that I couldn't start until I was nine or ten. I went back when I was 10 and didn't look back."

After beginning his boxing journey, Garry started competing in amateur fights on a near-weekly basis.

There was even a point in time when he fought eight times in four weeks. Garry claims to have had over 300 boxing bouts in his teenage years, and he also claimed multiple amateur titles during that period.

During Conor McGregor's rise in the UFC, Garry felt inspired and decided to transition into MMA. 

While working in a Louis Copeland suit shop in Dublin, McGregor happened to visit. The interaction was the push he needed to get into MMA. Judo was the first way to expand his skill, and by the time he was 18, he had earned a black belt. After Garry finished school, his mother encouraged him to attend college, and he reluctantly agreed to do so for a year. On the first day of his second year, he knew that it wasn't his path, so he quit and got a job as a full-time window cleaner and joined McGregor's gym, SBG. The gym, however, was far away from Garry's home, so he joined another gym closer to his home, which allowed him to train more frequently.

"Every day I was just training, training, training, I became a gym lad, and I fucking loved it. I learned really quickly, and I got really fucking good."

Two years later, he made his amateur debut in 2017, having seven fights that year, with a record of 6-1.

He turned professional in 2019 and made his debut with seven days' notice at Cage Warriors. He put on a fight of the night performance after breaking his hand in the first round, and he then signed a contract with the promotion. He quickly rose through the ranks and captured the Cage Warriors welterweight title, which put him on the UFC's radar, and the promotion signed him when he was just 23 years old.

DUSTIN POIRIER – TAMING THE BEAST

Dustin Glenn Poirier was born on January 19, 1989, in Lafayette, Louisiana. He was raised by his parents, Darrell Poirier and Jere' Folley Chaisson. He was quickly introduced to the many challenges that would shape his character. His parents divorced when he was young, and he found himself in street fights frequently. At ten years old, he was arrested for knocking out the teeth of a teenager in a street altercation. These early experiences shaped his aggressive nature and instincts. In eighth grade, his behavior, combined with getting caught up in fights constantly, resulted in him being sent to a juvenile detention center. By the time he was released, he'd reached ninth grade, and Poirier dropped out of Northside High School after having been expelled multiple times. His turning point came when he met Tim Credeur, a respected Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt and one of the first in Louisiana. Credeur saw something in Poirier - a raw, unrefined talent with a fierce drive. He invited Dustin to his gym, and for the first time, Poirier found a place where his aggression could be channeled into discipline. Speaking to Patrick Bet-David for the Valuetainment YouTube channel, Poirier said it shaped him. 

"The first day I ever laced up a pair of gloves and went to a gym, the camaraderie of the other guys in there. It just felt like home. From that day, I never looked back. I changed my circle and changed my focus, and I got lost and drowned into that."

Initially drawn to boxing, Poirier transitioned into MMA and made a name for himself in Louisiana's regional circuit. He went undefeated in his amateur career, winning seven fights, including five knockouts. In 2009, Poirier turned professional and compiled a 7–0 record in regional promotions. This earned him a spot in the WEC, where he went on to lose his first fight before bouncing back with a first-round TKO. After this victory, the UFC merged with the promotion, which was ‘The Diamond’s’ ticket to the good life. He won his first four bouts in the promotion, including his Submission of the Night victory over a young up-and-comer, Max Holloway. This victory helped set the tone for what was to become one of the most notorious MMA careers the sport has ever known. 

STIPE MIOCIC – THE WARM-HEARTED HEAVYWEIGHT

Stipe Miocic was born on August 19, 1982, in Euclid, Ohio. His parents, Bojan and Kathy Miocic, had emigrated from Croatia before his birth, seeking stability in the United States.  They separated early in his childhood; however, it didn't hinder his quality of life. His mother, along with his grandparents and later his stepfather, raised him alongside his younger half-brother, Jonathan. From a young age, Miocic was immersed in sport.

Speaking to Monster Energy's YouTube channel, Miocic said that his mother and grandfather were a driving force behind his athletic pursuits. 

"My childhood was awesome because of where I lived. I would wake up at eight in the morning, I would get five dollars from my grandpa, I always asked for a dollar, but he would give me five bucks. Then, I would buy these iced teas called Damon's for a dollar, and we played baseball, football, basketball, whatever, we'd swim all day too. I get home by eight or nine o'clock at night, it was pretty sweet."

At Eastlake North High School, he excelled in three sports: baseball, American football, and wrestling. His athleticism gave him scholarship opportunities at Cleveland State University and Trevecca Nazarene University, where he studied marketing and communications and competed in NCAA Division I wrestling. His wrestling career led him into MMA by chance. He was called in to help Dan Bobish during his training camp, assisting him in the wrestling department under the guidance of his future head coach, Marcus Marinelli.

Marinelli said this about him. 

"Bobish was a three-time national champ, and no one really took Dan down, you know? Stipe came in and shot in a single or double single, and Dan sprawled, then Stipe leaned down and he took Dan down, and I was thinking holy shit."

Despite his happy upbringing and kind nature, Miocic decided to try his hand at fighting. 

"I would never, never, in a million years think I was going to fight and be a mixed martial artist. I would never believe that in a million years. I think at the minute I started learning mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, and jiu jitsu, I would go on YouTube and watch all fight videos and techniques, trying to perfect them."

Miocic's talent was evident after he spent just over six minutes in the cage across five amateur fights, also going undefeated in the process, before turning pro in 2010. As a young, hungry professional, Miocic went 6-0 in just over a year and a half, finishing all his fights via knockout or technical knockout, which earned him a shot in the UFC.