Ian Machado Garry failed to make a scheduled appearance to speak to reporters at UFC 296 media day on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old Irish prospect was originally expected to kick off the question-and-answer period. Instead, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson started the day, and as more and more fighters made appearances, Machado Garry was nowhere to be found.
UFC officials later confirmed to MMA Fighting that Garry “will not be available today.” Multiple requests for comment to Garry’s rep, Lloyd Pierson, were not immediately returned.
In the weeks leading up to his fight with Vicente Luque, Garry, 26, got caught up in a number of controversies, most notably when UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland took aim at he and his wife, Layla Machado Garry. Strickland called her a “sexual predator” over their age gap – Ian Machado Garry is 26 while Layla Machado Garry is 40 – and took aim at a satirical 11-page book she wrote about how to find and marry a professional athlete.
Strickland also posted direct messages he said came from the UFC welterweight threatening potential legal action for harassment and defamation of character.
As a result of the constant back-and-forth and online harassment, Machado Garry said he feared bringing his family with him to Las Vegas for the fights.
“I’m a little bit cautious about going to America for the safety of my family with all the s*** that’s been going on online,” Machado Garry told TNT Sports. “To protect my wife, to protect my child, to protect myself.”
While Machado Garry definitely arrived in Las Vegas for UFC 296 fight week, he failed to appear at media day. His next scheduled appearance is at the UFC 296 pre-fight press conference on Thursday.
After Machado Garry no showed his media obligations, Luque reacted during his question-and-answer session.
“I believe that if he’s not going to do it, I’m not really into all that is going on,” he said. “I’ve just heard a little bit about stuff, and I did hear that he’s concerned with his family and all that. So if that is the reason, I mean I have his back. The biggest thing that we have is our family, and whenever somebody disrespects our family or crosses that line, I think it’s a big problem.
“I think it’s very unfortunate all that has gone on regarding him and his family. I think that’s something super disrespectful, and I understand. If he feels better like that, I think he has to do what he has to do.
“Obviously we have these obligations, but if he doesn’t come here, it’s also a loss in a way because it’s media he’s going to lose, it’s an opportunity to share his side of the story that he’s going to lose. So he is sacrificing something, as well, but in order to have his family’s safety and everything. It’s his decision at the end of the day.”
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