UFC fighter Ian Machado Garry has spoken out about the online attacks directed at his wife and family, calling the situation a “bizarre and toxic subplot” in recent MMA history, and criticizing the MMA world for its toxicity.
Ian Machado Garry had a clear goal. He wanted to shake up the UFC, just like his fellow countryman, Conor McGregor.
In the MMA world, Garry’s ambition was bound to draw both admiration and criticism. As he climbed the welterweight ranks, he expected this. What he didn’t foresee was his family becoming targets.
The attacks on his wife, Layla Machado Garry, were particularly surprising. They even surpassed those aimed at him. This attention was mostly for dubious reasons, raising their profiles in unexpected ways.
The partners of notorious trash-talkers like Conor McGregor and Chael Sonnen have seen less interest. Yet, Garry’s relationship, his partner, and his child have been under the spotlight. Layla has been accused of exploiting her husband’s fame. A satirical book she wrote about meeting famous athletes has been taken out of context.
Garry has witnessed the worst of this strange, toxic subplot in recent MMA history.
“People believe some ridiculous things online,” Garry said on The MMA Hour. He feels that many misunderstandings about his personal life are due to Chinese whispers. People love to hate, he added. The internet, especially MMA media, can be a toxic place.
The reactions might benefit Team Garry in the long run. But the immediate impact is undeniable. Layla and their son didn’t sign up for so much negative attention. Garry couldn’t protect them from it.
“It f****** stung,” he admitted.
People attacking his loved ones with vicious, untrue, and hurtful words boiled his blood. He had to be the bigger man and not respond until the right opportunity, which was at UFC 296.
Garry knows that he gets the chance to respond in the cage. That’s why not fighting at a past December’s pay-per-view event was a devastating blow. He had to withdraw due to pneumonia, just as fighters like Colby Covington and Sean Strickland were attacking the Garrys.
The silver lining, Garry said, is that his family has had more time to work through things.
“It’s tough,” he admitted. The constant, obsessive attacks were upsetting and hurtful. But now, they’ve come out of this stronger.
Garry draws a line between the trash talk he’s done in promoting fights and the kind that’s come at him. There’s a difference, he said, between pointing out your opponent’s past and taking aim at third parties who have nothing to do with the fight.
In the case of Geoff Neal and a t-shirt displaying his mugshot, Garry argues that was fair game. His opponent did get busted for DUI. With opponent Neil Magny, Garry was simply pointing out the veteran welterweight’s own comments about striking his children.
“My job is promoting my fight to the best level I can,” Garry said. He doesn’t accept that because he chooses to promote fights with trash talk, he should accept the repercussions in whatever form they take.
Garry is a disruptor, just like Jake Paul, Logan Paul, and Conor McGregor. But there is a fine line.