Ian Machado Garry has taken a step straight from Taylor Swift’s playbook to learn how to deal with online abuse and negativity.
The Irish UFC fighter and his family, particularly his wife Layla, have been the target of trolling in recent months, with other fighters like Sean Strickland fanning the flames, even falsely accusing her of being a pedophile.
Machado Garry, 27, and Layla, 40, are married and much of the initial ridicule came after a short satirical book she had written called “How to Be a WAG” resurfaced.
Layla’s ex-husband Richard Cullen also worked as Garry’s nutritionist and there was fallout over the fighter’s bitter exit from Leon Edwards’ gym in Birmingham.
All of these factors combined during a difficult period on social media, with many comments crossing the line.
Taylor Swift, pictured kissing partner Travis Kelce after the Super Bowl, has disabled her comments on social media in a move Ian Machado Garry has adopted.
Machado Garry, pictured with his wife Layla, has been subjected to abuse and ridicule online
speaking to bloody elbowGarry explained why he decided not to interact with the social media comments section and instead turn it off.
He said, ‘If you’re a fan of mine and I’m doing my job and you come to see the work I’m doing, I don’t want you to see the hate, so I’ll block.’ If you take it out, I will protect the peace.
‘I’ll close the comments and we’ve looked at someone like Taylor Swift.
‘Taylor Swift disabled her comments in 2019 due to hurtful and negative comments that affected the way she lived her days.
‘So he turned them off because he doesn’t need that information in his life.
‘That’s exactly what we’ve done. “I can turn off the hate and get rid of it and there’s no benefit to me or my fans from seeing it.”
Few people on the planet have a profile the size of the American pop star, whose fame has risen to another stratosphere thanks to his relationship with Super Bowl-winning tight end Travis Kelce.
Machado Garry may have been able to block out most of the naysayers and focus on his craft, which he will put to the test against Geoff Neal at UFC 298 this Saturday, but comments from other fighters were recorded.
Machado Garry said it mirrored Swift’s approach to ‘turn off hate’ online
UFC Middleweight Champion Sean Strickland Called Layla a ‘Sexual Predator’ Online
Layla’s satirical book resurfaced on social media last year, sparking a backlash online.
At media day he lashed out at Strickland, saying, “Listen, we can shoot at each other all day, me and another guy, but here are two things I’ll point out: Sean Strickland called my wife a pedophile.”
‘No woman deserves to be called that. My son, people who follow Sean Strickland, commented on a couple of my photos at the beginning of all this saying, “Is the kid even his?” I should never have to hear that. Those two things catch me emotionally.
‘I’ll get mine back. Someday I’m going to beat up Sean Strickland and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“I’ll talk to him, I’ll dance in his face, I’ll do whatever he wants, because the truth is that when one day we’re locked in that cage, he’ll never be able to deal with me.”
Machado Garry got married in Las Vegas and is an undefeated rising star in the UFC
The couple has a young son and regularly share updates on social media.
Machado Garry continued: ‘Look, Sean Strickland is not the damn voice we should be listening to. He is deeply, deeply indebted to trauma, and he should just keep quiet and try to deal with his own personal problems, and that’s where he mostly comes from.
“Of course, there isn’t a damn man on the planet who talks like that about my wife or my family and doesn’t understand it in the end. The truth is, he will never be relevant again. He has lost the belt. He has lost interest.
‘There’s a point where I get into a fight on short notice and I’ll dance around it. I’m too fast. I have too much talent and he just won’t be there.