“You can’t make up stories” – Wife of Ian Garry takes a dig at Sean Strickland for his stance on ‘How to be a WAG’ controversy

Sean Strickland has never been one to bite his tongue, especially as it pertains to offering his thoughts either on other MMA fighters or a sociopolitical topic that draws his interest. This time, he offered his unfiltered thoughts on fellow UFC roster-mate, Ian Garry and his marriage to Layla Machado Garry.

The relationship between Garry and Machado has been the subject of scrutiny as of late, for several reasons. First, there is a large age gap. Garry, who is 26 years old, is 14 years younger than his wife, who is 40 years old. Second, fans have dug up a guideook authored by Layla Machado Garry called How to be a WAG.

The book instructs women on how to acquire a relationship with superstar athletes. More controversy arose when it was revealed that Richard Cullen, Layla Machado Garry's ex-husband, is reportedly Ian Garry's nutritionist, with reports claiming he even lives with the couple. Naturally, this drew Sean Strickland's attention.

The UFC middleweight champion took to Instagram to express his disapproval of Ian Garry's marriage, mentioning all of the aforementioned details before imploring him to separate from Layla Machado Garry, who then posted a comment on Sean Strickland's post, warning him against continuing to speak on her:

"Sean. I've only heard the first few lines and switched it off you've already spread three total lies. I've sent you a dm and trying to contact you so you know you're causing a snowball effect now on a lie that's causing a serious volume of harassment towards me. Have all the opinions you wish. You can't make up stories. I am not surprised you believe everything you read but I'm shocked you're posting this without understanding consequence."

How this will affect Garry, who also reached out to Strickland, going forward remains to be seen, but the Irishman has been on something of a rough patch outside the cage for the last few months after being told he can't train with UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

A screenshot of Layla Machado Garry's comment

---

Have Sean Strickland and Ian Garry ever fought on the same card?

Sean Strickland is the reigning UFC middleweight champion, while Ian Garry hopes to convert his undefeated streak into a welterweight title fight. Both men occupy different positions in their respective divisions, but are similarly notable. So have they ever fought on the same card before?

As it turns out, they have. UFC 276, which saw Strickland suffer his most devastating loss when Alex Pereira knocked him out, also featured Ian Garry's third-ever UFC fight, when he scored a unanimous decision win over Gabriel Green.