Ian Machado Garry didn't hold back in responding to Sean Strickland's comments about the trash-talking culture in MMA.
Both fighters, Garry with a record of 13-0 MMA and 6-0 UFC, and Strickland at 28-5 MMA and 15-5 UFC, have been involved in giving and receiving verbal jabs. At the 2024 UFC seasonal press conference, Strickland criticized Garry for disabling Instagram comments and for talking smack about other fighters while struggling with criticism himself. The tension escalated when Strickland's rival, Dricus Du Plessis, brought up Strickland's abusive childhood, leading to a brawl at UFC 296.
“There’s some things that are off limits,” Strickland told comedian Theo Von on the “This Past Weekend” podcast. “You don’t really talk about a man’s wife, you don’t talk about a man’s kids, and you don’t about a kid being abused. These things are all off limits.
“Once (Du Plessis) crossed that, I tried to f*cking ignore it. I was boiling. Whenever Dricus goes on there, and he jokes about that sh*t, dude, you have no idea. I’ll f*cking kill you. You have no idea. I think the issue is too, when you’re a kid, and you’re made to be a victim your whole life, as an adult, you’re like, ‘Never again. I’ll f*cking kill you.”
With Strickland expressing dissatisfaction over Du Plessis going too far, Garry has retaliated, targeting Strickland for his initial remarks at the press conference concerning how he dealt with the recent criticism he faced.
“How the tables have turned,” Garry commented on an Instagram post by MMA Fighting. “You dish it out in the lowest, most vile manner, but can’t take a pinch. You attacked my wife incessantly and obsessively, calling her a (pedophile).
“It’s clear to see your childhood trauma showing. You claimed you were ‘giving me advice’ before, well now it’s my turn to return the favor: You should shut your mouth and focus on the mirror because you have enough serious issues you need to solve. I wish you all the best with them. Don’t ever project your pain onto me and my family again.”
Strickland will defend his middleweight title against Du Plessis at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto. Garry, on the other hand, is set to make his comeback against Geoff Neal at UFC 298 on Feb. 17 in Anaheim, Calif.