Ascending star Ian Machado Garry sets the record straight ahead of UFC 298

The preamble to Ian Machado Garry’s last two scheduled fights have focused on everything but the unquestionable skill and uncharted upside of the undefeated UFC welterweight.

Ahead of his proposed meeting with Vicente Luque at UFC 296, conversations began around the two men being friends and former training partners at Kill Cliff FC in South Florida, shifted to tales of knockouts and tensions at Team Renegade, home of welterweight champ Leon Edwards, and settled on personal attacks centered on the rising star’s personal life.

It persisted through the 26-year-old being forced to withdraw from his bout with Luque in December after contracting pneumonia during fight week and continues on in the lead up to this weekend’s clash with Geoff Neal at UFC 298.

“It’s very damaging, it’s very hurtful, and it’s very aggressive. It’s horrible,” Machado Garry said of the toxic online comments and attacks levied against him and his family over the last several months when speaking with Sportsnet prior to departing Sao Paulo for Anaheim, where he faces Neal on Saturday. “It’s poison and it’s to my loved ones. It’s not even to me.

“Call me a cuck all you want. Call me a Conor McGregor wannabe. Call me any name under the sun — I don’t mind — but attack my wife and call her a pedophile? Say, ‘Is the kid even his?’ It’s disgusting. All of that absolutely weighs on you and it emotionally gets to you because it’s so vile, so aggressive, and it’s berating.”

Initially, he tried to adopt a “don’t feed the trolls” approach to things, with a November video on his page showing a conversation with his wife, Layla, centered on not giving the baseless accusations, slanderous comments, and generally insulting remarks any attention.

“It (expletive) got worse,” he said of the “pay it no mind” approach, which prompted a shift in tactics.

Machado Garry shut down the comments on his Instagram account, hoping to “protect the peace” of the fans that want to be kept abreast of his travels, training, and activities without their having to encounter the waves of ignorance that littered his every post.

And rather than refusing to engage with the accusations, insults, and factually incorrect information that continues to persist online, the burgeoning superstar has done a complete 180 degree turn in his approach.

“We’ve learned to respond, because without a response, there is only one side of the story, and that’s what will be talked about, because that’s the only voice,” said Machado Garry, who is one of the most promising young talents on the UFC roster and a rising challenger at 170 pounds. “So respond and respond repetitively if people don’t understand or address the situation correctly.

“You also have to look at the people making the videos, the people making the allegations, or talking the way they’re talking,” he continued, turning his attention to the individuals perpetuating these conversations. “It’s uneducated people, mostly. People that haven’t fact-checked. It’s a lot of people that are uneducated and not willing or wanting to do their job correctly, because the truth is boring. Does that make sense? The lies and the (expletive) get more traction. That’s the truth.”

So let’s set the record straight.

Machado Garry’s wife is older than him, was previously married and does have a child from that relationship. These are all things the Irish standout was fully aware of before the two began dating, got married, and had a child of their own.

He added Machado — the name of the Brazilian side of his wife’s family — to his name so that the two boys had a connection.

“If I had a brother and my name was Garry and his name was Andrews — ‘Oh, you’re Ian Garry’s brother? Isn’t your name Callum Andrews?’” he said, enacting a theoretical conversation that highlights the potential confusion he was hoping to avoid. “I chose to add a name to my name so that my boys felt connected. That’s the reason, and people have turned that and flipped that and spread that to absolute utter nonsense online.”

In terms of his wife’s ex-husband, Richard Cullen, he has been brought onto the team, but for very different reasons than the unsubstantiated nonsense that has been discussed online.

“I spoke to my wife, I spoke to her ex-husband — he’s an elite performance nutritionist — and I said to him, ‘Wanna come on a journey and do nutrition for me and we can all do this together? I don’t wanna be in Brazil and you be in the U.K. and me have your son and you not spend time with him, me feeling like a wedge between you.’ That’s the truth.”

Nothing scandalous. Nothing salacious.

Just a mature 26-year-old considering the well-being of his step-son, wanting to do whatever he can to ensure life doesn’t get in the way of family and cause unnecessary friction for people that he loves.

"I know in my heart, in my soul that the choices my family and I have made is to prioritize kids and family and connections that are more important for life,” he said. "I know I would find it very difficult to do what my wife’s ex-husband did — come on the journey, being involved with her new husband, but that shows what a good man he is because he values his child.

“This is the story that should be written and talked about, not the spun, ridiculous nonsense.”

Along with addressing the distractions and ensuring that the record is set straight as often as required until people get the message, the other thing Machado Garry has opted to do in the face of all of the online noise is to further tighten his circle and strengthen the bonds he’s built and continues to build with his team.

“Pull the people around you closer,” began the 13-0 Irishman, who has spent this camp in Sao Paulo, training with the Chute Boxe Diego Lima team and working on his jiu-jitsu with Demian Maia. "Pull the team around you closer, embrace the energy of the people that sweat with you, bled with you, shed tears with you, worked towards the similar goal you have and want to achieve, and give them the time and the energy they deserve, rather than the online stuff.”

He wrapped his preparations for his scuttled December engagement with Luque in Sao Paulo, and ventured to Las Vegas with Lima poised to serve as his chief corner for the contest. After the UFC 296 fallout and once he was healthy and this weekend’s fight with Neal was booked, returning to the South American hotbed of MMA was a no-brainer, as the atmosphere and connection at Chute Boxe resonates with him on an emotional level.

“The energy Diego Lima has created around Chute Boxe, and the energy that every single person that walks into that building has and possesses is a different energy than anything I’ve experienced in the world,” began Machado Garry, who continues to envision himself travelling around to different training destinations based on the areas he wants to address most and the skills he’s looking to build for each individual contest.

“It’s a family, there is a care. It’s love, it’s passion, and it’s a true team bond where they want to see everybody success, and that’s from the top down. That’s very special.”

He explained that on his final day of camp before departing for California, the team joined hands in a circle at the close of practice as they always do and said the Lord’s Prayer, with one of the members then offering encouragement and support to their Irish brother in Portuguese.

While he’s been steadily working on picking up the language, Machado Garry is far from fluent yet, but even without being able to understand everything that was being said, the energy and earnestness of the message still touched him deeply.

“I can’t exactly translate, but was something like, ‘Go with success. Know that all of our energy is behind you, that we wish you everything. We’ll all be there with you, cheering for you, praying for you, and we’re happy you’re part of this family, this team.’”

He paused.

“You can feel that. I had to hold back tears. Even though I don’t understand everything that he’s saying, I can feel that power, I can feel that emotion, and that’s very special.”

In addition to the deep bonds and connections that are being forged in those rooms, make no mistake about it: a massive part of the draw for setting up shop in Sao Paulo is the skill development that comes with working with this team, and getting Brazilian jiu-jitsu instruction from one of the best grapplers to ever grace the Octagon.

But those decisions are also based in thoughtful consideration of what he currently brings to the table and how he believes future opponents are going to look to attack him.

Tall for the division at 6-foot-3 with a good reach, tremendous leg dexterity and a strong kicking game, Machado Garry knows the foundational approach to beating him is going to be for opponents to get him to the ground and keep him there.

“I’ve always said it but the biggest thing I can learn and takeaway right now is having elite level jiu-jitsu to counter what everyone else is going to try to do to me,” he explained. “They’re going to try to suffocate me, smother me, put me on my back. I’d do that to me if I was fighting me.”

He then spoke for his theoretical future opponents, forced to reconsider their approach.

“‘Oh, but this guy has been training with Demian Maia for the last year?’” he said. “Maybe not a good idea.’”

Although he’s thrilled by the developments he’s seeing in the gym and advancements in his game, the Irish contender is quick to point out this weekend’s matchup with Neal might not be the fight where he puts those newly levelled up talents on display.

“I don’t know how much of the growth and evolution is going to be on display in this fight because this fight’s plan is very simple: control the distance and don’t let someone that is the shorter, smaller, stockier fighter enter into his range,” said Machado Garry, happy to lay out the general blueprint for his approach to fighting Neal. “Control the distance and dominate at long range until he becomes desperate and he rushes, or until you crack him and hurt him. It’s a cat-and-mouse game.

“Everything is evolving around me. I can feel the growth, I can feel the evolution, I can see it. You’ll see it in this fight — I’ll be jacked out my mind. Trust me.”

After being denied the opportunity to compete in December, the unbeaten rising star is champing at the bit to make the walk on Saturday, eagerly anticipating the moment he crosses the threshold into the UFC cage, locks up with Neal, and shows once again that he is the superior man in the Octagon that evening.

And should things play out the way he envisions, Machado Garry has some clear ideas about what he’d like next.

“The visual I have is finishing Geoff Neal, him unconscious on the canvas, me standing over his corpse and looking around, making eye contact with as many eyes I can make contact with in that moment — hearing the cheers, hearing the boos, seeing the reactions — and putting my arms out and going, ‘This is what I do.’” he said, his long arms extended to their fullest, smirking. “Whatever you wanna say, whatever you wanna think, whatever you wanna talk about online — this is what I do. 

“Then I’ll get on the mic and do what I do best: call out who I want, where I want it, how I want it, and I’ll rile up the fans and get everyone excited for it.”

When asked if that included bringing the UFC back to Ireland, a goal and dream he’s spoken about regularly and that still remains high on his list of things to do, he proposed an ideal hypothetical scenario.

“I think it has to be the Conor card next, whenever that may be (and) I have a good co-main for you, if you want: Main event, ‘The Notorious Conor McGregor versus ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler. An absolute barnburner. For the co-main event, Ireland versus American, right? Ian Machado Garry versus Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington.”

His eyes lit up as he rolled out his idea, the excitement about potentially cometing on a card with McGregor and taking on a three-time title challenger and former interim champ filling him with excitement.

“Wherever it is in the world, that fight will be fireworks, that fight will be insane,” Machado Garry added, grinning and almost giggling at the thought. “The enjoyment of fight week, the build-up, the anticipation for that fight week would be unlike anything every before.

“Colby Covington is going to get it. I’m gonna retire him. I’m gonna rid the UFC of his nonsense.”