Ian Garry Weighs in on Sean Strickland Drama, Details UFC PI Run-in

While Ian Garry on one hand sympathizes with Sean Strickland’s childhood trauma, he believes that doesn't give the UFC middleweight champ free reign to ridicule other fighters and their families.

The feud between the two started with Strickland questioning Garry’s relationship with his wife, who is 14 years older than him. Strickland called “The Future” a “f---ing c--k” leading up to UFC 296, and the two also had a run-in at the UFC Performance Institute. Garry detailed the incident during an appearance on "The MMA Hour".

“I wouldn't say it was a seeing, it was more of a glance, and him being shuffled into a lift, and that was it,” Garry said. “And he had a little snicker on his face, and I shouted something at him — I don’t know what I shouted at him, but I shouted something at him before I even had a chance to think. My body went straight into fight mode, and then the doors closed. There was nothing much to it, to be honest.”

Around the same time, Strickland also went on to feud with upcoming UFC 297 opponent Dricus Du Plessis, who brought up the champ’s abusive childhood during their interaction at the promotion’s seasonal press conference.

Strickland was admittedly triggered and went on to attack Du Plessis in the crowd while attending UFC 296 the next day. Strickland subsequently went on a podcast with comedian Theo Von, where he revealed intimate details about his childhood trauma in an emotional interview.

The reigning middleweight champion also opined that Du Plessis had crossed a line with his trash talk, leading Garry to recently note how the tables had turned. According to Garry, Strickland’s childhood trauma is no excuse for the kind of trash talk he unleashes on others.

“I don’t personally care what happened in his childhood, or what happened in his past that has him the way he is now. I don’t care what happened in your past. Don’t attack and project your pain onto other people, or other people’s families, because you can’t deal with it correctly,” the Irishman said.

“The UFC PI has mental health and has ways to deal with athletes’ mental health. Go talk to them and deal with it the way it should be dealt with — talk about it. Get rid of it, express it, release it, because to attack other people’s families and other people’s loved ones because you have childhood trauma, it’s completely unfair. It’s inexcusable. You don’t have a reason to attack other people because you are in pain. That’s my outlook on it.”

Garry was scheduled to face teammate Vicente Luque at UFC 296 last month but was forced out of the bout at the last moment due to pneumonia. “The Future” was booked immediately after for a clash against Geoff Neal at UFC 298, which will go down on Feb. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Meanwhile, Strickland is set to defend his strap in the main event at UFC 297 on Jan. 20 in Toronto.