Ian Garry has predicted he will eventually fight fellow prospect Khamzat Chimaev for the welterweight title following a successful UFC debut.
Garry rallied after a tough first round to knockout Jordan Williams on the undercard of UFC 268 in New York.
Underdog Williams was getting the better of Garry for most of the fight, landing the better shots and bullying him against the cage.
But just as the round was about to come to a close, Garry countered Williams to land a perfect right hand and score the walk-off knockout.
Garry admitted the magnitude of fighting at Madison Square Garden affected him and also paid homage to his countryman Conor McGregor after the win.
And talking at the post-fight press conference, Garry revealed he expects to fight soaring welterweight Chimaev in the next few years.
"Tonight, was it the cleanest performance? No, but did I do what I said I was going to do? Yes. So, that's all that matters," he said.
"I'm going to keep doing that and people are always gonna say 'oh I can beat this guy', so do it. Let's see it. Give me the guy that's going to do it.
"The only two people that I can think are gonna do it right now are Khamzat and Kamaru [Usman], because they're the two guys who are the s*** at the moment.
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"Kamaru's the champ, Khamzat is going to be the champ, then it's going to be and Khamzat fighting for that belt in a couple of years. Potentially for both belts, as he fights at middleweight too."
Chimaev is undefeated in his professional career and has won four straight fights in the UFC, submitting Li Jingliang at UFC 267 last month.
The Swede has already fought at middleweight and welterweight during his time in the UFC but has pledged his future to the 170-pound division.
And Garry – who is one of the youngest UFC fighters on the roster – said he still has lots of improvements to make as a fighter.
"I've got a lot of time to grow. I'm only 23 years of age, I've got a big frame to grow into," he continued.
"I've got a lot of work to do in strength and conditioning. Get bigger, stronger, fitter, faster and learn a lot of skills.
"It's kind of a slow but fast process if that makes sense. I wanna be active, but I wanna take it slow because I want to improve my skill set.
"If I fight three fights a year it's four months between every fight. I can grow a hell of a lot in four months, and if I keep that year in year out, no-one is going to be able to stop me."
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