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Ian Machado Garry on the backlash to his personality before UFC 330: ‘I couldn’t care less’

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2 months ago

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Ian Machado Garry on the backlash to his personality before UFC 330: ‘I couldn’t care less’

Ian Machado Garry knows he's ruffled some feathers in the MMA community—he just doesn't care.

On Saturday, Garry challenges Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330. It's Garry's first title fight, and ahead of the bout, “The Future†has been making the media rounds to promote the event. While Garry has rubbed a portion of the MMA fanbase the wrong way since he broke into prominence, this latest media tour may have stirred the hornet's nest more than ever when he suggested that women should rule the world.

In response to his comments, several prominent MMA figures have ripped Garry for his personality and media appearances, including Makhachev, who said that Garry looks bad in his interviews and like he's trying to be a bad guy. But Garry doesn't care.

“I couldn't care less,†Garry told the Spinning Backfist MMA Show. “Ahead of my fight with Belal Muhammad in Qatar, I walked out to boos. Go back and listen to the audio 30 seconds into the fight. ‘Let's go, Garry! Let's go!' This sport is a pantomime. I couldn't care less what people think of me. What I care about is becoming the champion of the world and proving that I was right. That the dream I had as a 16-year-old growing up in Dublin, Ireland, I fulfill that dream.

“What anyone else thinks about me, it's irrelevant. My little boy is going to be front row when I win that belt. I couldn't care what anyone else on this planet has to say about me or thinks about me. I want to see his smile. I want to see him and my wife. I want to give him the biggest cuddle I possibly can, and say, ‘Daddy did it!' That's all that matters to me.â€

Garry has his opportunity to do just that on Saturday, but it's a tall task in front of him.

Makhachev is the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now, and is quickly building a résumé to put him among the all-time greats. And as he heads into the biggest fight of his life, Garry is taking that same unconcerned approach when it comes to his preparation — this fight isn't about what Makhachev can do, but what he will do.

“This fight camp, I have been so focused on me and everything I want to do to be the best in the world,†Garry said. “Not what Islam can do. I know Islam. I know Islam's route to victory. I know what he has to do to try and get his hand raised this fight. It's very simple. What I want to do is be the best version of me, so I can cause him the most frustration, the most irritation, and I can have fun.â€

UFC 330 takes place this Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

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MMA

Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’

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10 hours ago

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October 11, 2026

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Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’

Andre Fili knows where to draw the line.

On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.

At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.

“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.

“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€

Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.

“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.

“And now I'm making enough money to where I can change the trajectory of my entire family. I come from violence and drug abuse and poverty. I live below the poverty line in America, which I know is different from being in some of these other countries, but it's below the poverty line nonetheless, and I'm here to break some generational curses. This shit's hard work.â€

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MMA

Christian Leroy Duncan eyes UFC title shot with Brendan Allen win

Published

12 hours ago

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October 11, 2026

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Christian Leroy Duncan eyes UFC title shot with Brendan Allen win
Christian
Leroy Duncan believes a win over Brendan
Allen would warrant a shot at
Ultimate Fighting Championship gold or a matchup with a former
titleholder.

Duncan (15-2) is scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 122 against Allen (27-7) on Saturday at Meta Apex in
Las Vegas. The Englishman has defeated Roman
Dolidze and Jared
Cannonier in his last two outings and hopes a victory over
Allen will earn him one of those opportunities.

Christian Leroy Duncan targets former champion as next step
after Brendan Allen

Duncan is 8-2 in the UFC and has won five straight fights. He
believes an impressive performance against Allen could propel him
past other middleweight contenders or put him one step closer to a
title shot.

‘I don't see why not [a title shot next],†Duncan told MMA
Fighting. “We get a good performance this weekend, I don't see why
not… Brendan Allen being Top 4, it puts us in that title contention
section where we've got Strickland and Imavov who are supposed to
be fighting next. We've got DDP amongst that mix of former
champions. It will be great to then put my hat in at the top level.
This year I fought Roman being a Top 15 fighter, Cannonier being a
Top 10 fighter and now Brendan Allen being a Top 5, so the natural
progression from that would be a former champion.â€

Middleweight champion Sean
Strickland has said compensation remains an obstacle to
finalizing the first title defense of his second reign, with
Nassourdine
Imavov his expected challenger. Former champions Khamzat
Chimaev and Dricus Du
Plessis are also seeking another fight with the 185-pound
titleholder. Chimaev lost the belt to Strickland earlier this year,
while du Plessis holds two wins over the American.

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MMA

Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight

Published

1 day ago

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October 10, 2026

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Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight
Josh
Hokit believes Alexander
Volkov will never get a chance to fight him.

Hokit (10-0) is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane
(14-2, one no contest) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Volkov has
criticized Hokit since the title fight was announced, and the
American has responded.

Josh Hokit says Alexander Volkov will never get his chance,
mocks heavyweight résumé

Volkov considers Hokit an easy matchup and predicts that Gane will
defeat the unbeaten contender. In response, Hokit compared their
records, noting that he defeated Derrick
Lewis and Curtis
Blaydes, both of whom beat Volkov.

“Drago†has won consecutive decisions over Jailton
Almeida and Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and is scheduled to face Rizvan
Kuniev at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Hokit added that Blaydes
defeated both Almeida and Kuniev. “The Incredible Hok†claims he
will already be dominating the light heavyweight division by the
time Volkov earns a fight with him.

“Volkov saying he'd beat me easy is funny… He'll never get the
chance,†Hokit wrote on X. “I just beat Blaydes and Lewis. Volkov
lost to BOTH. Now he's fighting Kuniev (who Blaydes beat), after
squeaking by Almeida (who Blaydes dominated). I’m going to kill
Ciryl, who he lost to twice. Zero finishes, pure boring. By the
time you earn a fight with me, I'll already be dominating LH.â€

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