A BJJ black belt in a wrestling body?
You think Merab’s takedowns don’t already leave bodies in the Octagon like a reenactment of 1812? 🤡 Word is Ian’s camp’s been sniffing around the UFC’s "meet-and-greet" calendar—slippery like a greased-up Russian in a samba. Imagine Garry dancing in, then Merab dismantling him in the clinch like a jigsaw puzzle where every piece is a wristlock. Our middleweight division’s about to get its first ever BJJ clinic with championship-grade lead vocals. And friends? That’s a KO in itself.
It's a lottery, not sport.
You ever seen Merab take down a guy who's got half the wrestling pedigree of a Jon Jones?
Sample first, conclusions after.
you think merab lets anyone take him down when HE don’t wanna go? that dude’s a T-REX in human form—roots too deep, hips too sticky! 😱 and garry? nah mate, he’s all about that flashy boxin’ footwork but BJJ? we talking rocket surgery vs 🏆💥 BJJ black belt in a WRYYYYYESTLING body yeahhhh DEFO 🔥 can u even imagine the damage when our boy starts feeding those limbs like spaghetti to a python?! 90% we’re looking at a clinic where merab *chooses* to grapple and BOOM—another decade of middleweight dominance GIMME THAT 🙌
Heart with the team, head on pause.
Right, let’s settle this with the cold numbers that usually don’t lie. Ian’s 29—three full years older than Merab’s 26, so the age window is narrow but doable. Middleweight cutoff sits at 185 lb and Garry’s hovered between 170-185 all campaign, so weight isn’t the stumbling block we saw when fighters bulk up for light-heavy. The leverage he brings? Four Division-I folkstyle wins at college level plus Greco and freestyle pedigree—think of it as the wrestling chassis. Then you cross over to the mats where he’s logged 24 amateur grappling matches and a BJJ purple belt (pending black in the next year if he keeps drilling). The jump from purple to black is mostly paperwork—technique’s already there, the gi scrimmages add up. On the flip side, Merab’s current output shows a 78% takedown accuracy inside the UFC Octagon and eight finishes via ground submissions. That’s championship-grade grappling theatre right now. Garry’s BJJ output is scattered—eight submission attempts, four subs finished, but the sample’s thin because his camp prioritised cage-warfare over polishing lapel ties. So the transfer question isn’t “can he do BJJ?” but “can he do Merab-level BJJ at 185 lb against killers who know every Russian tie-in and whizzer counter?” The age gap alone tells us this pairing needs to happen within the next 24 months; past 31 Garry’s levers start to rust, and Merab won’t wait. For the fans dreaming the clinic, I’d budget two title-defences for Merab first, then slide Garry straight in. Realistic? Margin of error sits at 60/40 we actually get the fight on paper, but if Merab stays durable it tilts towards the 70s. Either way, bring the popcorn—just make sure it’s gourmet because we’re talking about two artists who eat scrambles for breakfast.
I keep my own tables 📊
Saw Garry in Dublin last year after UFC 300, man was straight chillin’ in Temple Bar with a crew of BJJ guys from London rolling at the back of The Quays. Dude didn’t even want to spar—just watching, asking technical questions like a sponge. That’s the moment you realise Ian’s not just flashy footwork; he’s genuinely obsessed with the craft. Watching Merab’s last camp vid where he drilled armdrag chains for 45 minutes straight? yeahhh that’s a language Garry already speaks in his sleep.
Here to argue, not to nod along.
Man, I’ve seen Merab leave guys looking like they just ran into a brick wall made of syrup—twenty seconds into the first round, no breathing room. But this Garry kid? He’s not just another striker hyping the crowd with flash kicks—he actually picks up new stuff like it’s a fifth sense.
Sample first, conclusions after.
Saw Garry’s last move list on Twitter, bruv, they called it the "submission set-up slap"—fella slaps opponents mid-combo then instantly back-taps for a kimura finish in one fluid motion 🤬 imagine Merab just *reading* that script like a primary school kid's homework 😱 he'd sniff it out in the first 30 seconds, haha nah mate that's not boxing anymore that's paint-by-numbers BJJ prep 🔥 and once our boy gets those pythons round an ankle? there ain't no magic wand in the world that unties that knot 💪 next round's gonna be them legs just doin' the macarena round Garry's head while he tries to find oxygen between wrist and throat ah well, nowt to do
On the terraces since I was a kid.
Remember when Merab smoked a contender who'd been 11-0 in BJJ tournaments and left him questioning his life choices inside 90 seconds? You can't out-muscle a dude who treats your hips like a car wash—he’s not just sticky, he’s caustic. Now drop that Ian kid in front of him and we’re telling Merab to go play sticker tag for three rounds while the ref sorts out whose necktie is whose. Garry’s got boxing rhythm and a submission setup slap—cool parlor tricks until Merab latches onto a wrist, snaps the armbar like a wishbone, and all the audience gets is a single slow-motion replay in which they ask each other, “Wait, was that grappling or contemporary dance?” I could be wrong, but if Garry somehow survives the first take-down tour bus, the second one will have a free souvenir: a black belt in lawn-dart appreciation.
I keep my own tables 📊
same time last year they were whisperin’ about hows Conor would take dvalishvili out on a bar stool bender and strap on a pink gi for the fun of it — remember how that turned out? two years before that it was colby covington’s “imma wrestle merab into orbit” tour of doom, like dude packed his whole w-16 routine in a carry-on and still got bounced off the fence like a tennis ball 😂 but hey, at least we got the memes: conor getting his ankles traced by a rear-naked in 90 seconds flat, colby face-planting into the mat after a perfectly thrown double — good times ah well, we’ll see
Been here longer than some have followed.