Last week, Ian Machado Garryannounced himself as an official ambassador of Peta, the famous animal rights charity. It says a lot about the MMA fandom’s loathing of the Irish fighter that the partnership elicited widespread groans and mockery.
Not that Peta has been free of controversies, of course, but there were many who saw the team-up as a high-profile count of virtue signalling from Machado Garry. And really, this is the greatest supposed offence of which the 28-year-old has been accused: virtue signalling.
When Machado Garry spoke on the High Performance Podcast this month and suggested that the world would be better off run by women, his detractors poured their fury through fingertips onto laptop keyboards, like hail on Portmarnock stone.
It was not dissimilar when Machado Garry claimed that his wife Layla (from whom he took the Machado name) was the smartest person he’s ever met.
Of course, the reactions to these words don’t just say a lot about the loathing towards Machado Garry; they say a lot about the MMA fanbase in general. Many of the fans who forgave UFC president Dana White for slapping his wife cannot abide Machado Garry for putting his own on a pedestal.
Still, there have been times when Machado Garry’s particular line of morality has proved genuinely problematic.
When his opponent Neil Magny made an ill-advised but seemingly insincere comment at a pre-fight media day in 2023, Machado Garry's livid reaction apparently led to actual legal concerns for the Haitian.
“There’s the whooping you give your son now, like to kind of teach him life a little bit,” Magny had said at the time. “Being a father, I’ve become quite accustomed to that kind of whooping now, and that’s what we’re looking forward to giving [Machado Garry] on Saturday.” Machado Garry accused Magny of admitting to child abuse, and spoke over him repeatedly at the pre-fight press conference, imploring fans to condemn Magny.
Subsequently, Magny claimed that Machado Garry’s stance had led to genuine difficulty in Magny’s custody battle.
“It was a very uneasy feeling,” Magny said on the MMA Hour. “To have an opponent take that lightly and make it a gimmick, and some of the things you’re saying in press conferences are being quoted in emails for my partner’s attorney to use in court, and that kind of stuff. It was just a very uneasy feeling for me.
“This is beyond fighting. This is my actual life. Forget legacy, forget wins, forget record, forget all that stuff. My sole purpose on Earth is to be the best father possible to my kids, and the things said in that press conference being quoted and being put in a position to use against me in court, that was just an uneasy feeling. I didn’t like it at all. It took a huge toll on me.”
Magny’s suggestion that his rival had used the Haitian’s words as a “gimmick” remain interesting now. Machado Garry would obviously dispute the claim that he was being disingenuous, and assert that he was truly concerned for Magny’s child. Many fans, however, would not grant Machado Garry grace there.
Indeed, Machado Garry has proven one of the most divisive fighters in the UFC since his 2021 debut, which has given way to a 10-1 run and his first world-title fight. On Saturday, he challenges the pound-for-pound No 1, Islam Makhachev, for the UFC welterweight title.
Immediately after the bout was confirmed, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn announced that he had signed Machado Garry to his new talent agency.
“Ian is one of the most mentally-assured and confident people I’ve ever met," Hearn told The Independent last week. “When I sat down with him and talked about the Islam fight... Now, I’m not a UFC guy or an MMA guy – I watch it, but I can’t tell you who’s gonna win a fight – but I’m like: ‘He’s f***ing winning.’
“I know it doesn’t always work like always, because I work in combat sport and I know that just being confident’s not always enough. But I know that he’s a great fighter, and I just believe in him.
“He’s a little bit outspoken,” Hearn added in a stark understatement. “He’s very focused on what he wants to do and the way that’s going to do it, and he doesn’t really care about the noise from the outside.
“And I think that he’s got the kind of personality that, if he wins this fight, he becomes a superstar – and he becomes arguably the biggest name in the UFC.”
Perhaps the “biggest” in the way that Machado Garry’s countryman Conor McGregor was; not due to universal support, but due to warring sentiments – appreciation for his skills versus a deep desire to see him fail.
So, Machado Garry’s case is a curious one. You can doubt the sincerity of some of his statements – you might even feel he speaks very deliberately, knowing what will irk fans – but you can’t doubt his abilities.
In Makhachev, however, he faces a two-weight world champion, a fighter unbeaten in 11 years, a man one win away from the all-time record of consecutive victories, a protege of the great Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Most who follow the sport are leaning on those accolades as evidence that Makhachev, 34, will see off Machado Garry in the main event of UFC 330. But Machado Garry has youth on his side, a versatile skillset, and he is very difficult to look good against.
A win for Machado Garry might not actually be the immense upset that some are claiming. Yet it would cause immense upset – to the Irishman’s delight, perhaps.