Jon Anik: Ian Machado Garry 'under appreciated by every pocket of this fanbase'

Jon Anik thinks Ian Machado Garry gets too much unwarranted disrespect. Machado Garry (17-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) challenges welterweight champion Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) in Saturday's UFC 330 main event (Paramount+) at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Machado Garry has been showered with criticism and boos throughout fight week, and UFC play-by-play commentator Anik says the fans are focusing on the wrong things. "He really has been under-appreciated by every pocket of this fanbase that would rather focus on his wife and other things," Anik said of Machado Garry on his "Anik & Florian" podcast. "Now, I could sit here and take that side, too, and say to you guys in a moment of veracity that he's the only fighter to come into a fighter meeting and sit with his ass on the f*cking table and hold court, right? He's also maybe the only fighter whose time has expired (in the interview) and who is like, 'No, I'm staying. We're still going.' "But I absolutely love him and when I look at his legacy on paper, the loss to Shavkat Rakhmonov was wicked competitive. He's 17-1, he's put in all the right work, he's aligned with Diego Lima and Charles Oliveira. I've said I want to grow my hair and blonde and join those guys. I just feel like he's done so many things right and everybody focuses on maybe some things he hasn't done well verbally." Machado Garry will look to become just the second Irish UFC champion in history, and snap Makhachev's historic 16-fight winning streak in the octagon. This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Jon Anik: Ian Machado Garry 'under appreciated by every pocket of this fanbase'