UFC welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry didn’t hold back on his division’s new titleholder.
Jack Della Maddalena capped off his unbeaten run in the UFC Octagon with an astounding performance against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315. In a ‘Fight of the Year’ candidate, Maddalena outpointed Muhammad by unanimous decision to dethrone the champion and win the welterweight belt.
Maddalena will likely face UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev in a super fight later this year. Makhachev will vacate the lightweight belt at UFC 317 as Ilia Topuria and Charles Oliveira headline a stacked card for the title.
Despite being the UFC 315 backup, Ian Machado Garry was a significant presence during fight week. He shared some cordial moments with Maddalena and Muhammad ahead of the event, alongside his son, but things took a turn in the aftermath of UFC 315.
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Ian Machado Garry responds to Jack Della Maddalena’s personal shots after UFC 315
After Garry’s son gave Maddalena some candy during UFC 315 media day, Maddalena didn’t take kindly to the gesture. He proceeded to question Garry’s motives and whether or not his son was his.
It was an out-of-character remark from the usually tranquil Maddalena, and Garry didn’t take kindly to it.
During an interview on The Ariel Helwani Show, Garry responded to Maddalena.
“It was a playful joke about a child giving a fighter M&Ms, with the baseline comedy of ‘take these, miss weight, my daddy will step in and win the world title’. That’s just a laugh,” Garry said.
“And then going out and saying the comments he said, it’s just immature, and it shows that he’s very sensitive because if he says something like that, which…that’s out of his character. It means that what I was doing on fight week irritated him enough to get him to say something like that.
“Which means when I do fight him, I’m going to open a whole can of irritation, because I reckon he’s mentally weak and I can get in his head.”
Tensions between Maddalena and Garry hit a high point when Maddalena’s longtime coach mocked Garry’s tendency to go the distance in his fights. Garry defeated Carlos Prates at UFC Kansas City last month after falling to Shavkat Rakhmonov for his first-career defeat at UFC 310.
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Islam Makhachev labeled a ‘coward’ for picking JDM fight over Ilia Topuria
As Maddalena prepares for a likely showdown with Makhachev, a UFC legend bashed Makhachev for vacating the lightweight belt and moving up to 170 lbs. Chael Sonnen labeled Makhachev’s dismissive stance towards a fight with Topuria as an act of cowardice.
Makhachev last defended the lightweight belt against Renato Moicano at UFC 311. He was supposed to face Arman Tsarukyan in the main event before Tsarukyan withdrew on hours’ notice due to a back injury.
Makhachev vs. Maddalena could come to fruition in October for the UFC’s pay-per-view return to Abu Dhabi.