This week The MMA Guru revealed that Layla Ann-Lee Machado wrote a book about how women can become a WAG, and MMA Twitter absolutely lost their minds. The 40-something-year-old wife of UFC rising welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry was also wrapped up in other rumors, including claims they live with her ex-husband (she denies this).
But the flames of the rumor were fueled when both UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and Chris Curtis got involved.
Strickland posted a video blasting Ian's wife, in typical Strickland fashion.
Sean Strickland has a message for Ian Garry
— MMA Mania (@mmamania) November 25, 2023
“#saveiangarry” - Strickland pic.twitter.com/zakDNy48D9
You know I never talk about a fighters girls but fuck....... I almost feel bad for Ian Garry at this point..... bro your girl is a succubus.... :/ sorry bro it happens to us all once..
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) November 24, 2023
You got played...... #wag hope you have a good prenup....
“I never talk about anybody’s spouses, but this s—t ain’t right ... Ian Garry, I remember I met you in New York, you were with this fine-ass girl, she had the little nipple coverings, we all f—king seen it ... I remember thinking to myself, ‘There ain’t something right about that girl.’ Something about that woman ain’t f—king right. The way she walked, the way she looked, the way she talked, I knew it," Strickland said in the video. “Now, I find out that you're 26, she’s f—king 40, the ex-f—king husband lives with you, you took her last name. Motherfucker she wrote a book on how to be a WAG. I didn’t even know what a WAG was until now ... she’s a succubus. You got to run away, bro.”
He doubled down on Twitter when he revealed Ian had sent him a DM threatening legal action over the video and comments.
You put a man's mug shot on a shirt to shame him and then you say you're going to sue me?!?! Learn how to be a fucking man.. Were you born without a ball sack or did your wife remove them.. coward.. utter fucking coward pic.twitter.com/Ws46UJGzgT
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) November 25, 2023
Sean Strickland going in on Ian Garry for threatening to sue him 😬 pic.twitter.com/0PyXXhlwnH
— OOC MMA (@oocmma) November 25, 2023
Strickland wasn't backing down after the threats.
“This motherf—ker, he says, ‘I’m gonna sue you if you don’t delete that.’ You’re gonna sue me motherf—ker?!? He said that I was lying. Motherf—ker, I ain’t lying! You are 26, she is 40, she wrote a f—king book on how to be old and be with a young athlete. I ain’t f—king lying bro, this is factual," he said. “Ian Garry, I don’t give a f—k about being sued, you think I give a f—k. You want me to respect you? You say, ‘I’m going to go to Bass Pro Shop or wherever the f—k you go, and I’m gonna go buy a 9 and handle this like a man.’ I would’ve respected that."
Layla also tweeted about the lawsuit writing that she's studying law for this specific reason.
"I’ve always loved law," she tweeted. "Gained a Harvard certification in contract law four years ago was one of the smartest moves I ever made. Now I’m studying slander, libel and defamation. Opening a foundation to place all funds made from defamation cases to go towards a positive cause. Defamation is super simple. Is it a lie, was it publicised, was it intentional? Tick those tree boxes and I’m gonna make your negative a positive. There’s a pattern. The more successful we become the more shit ppl talk. I can turn all this into a positive now. I’m ready."
Chris Curtis defended Ian Garry 'Y’all need to chill'
While all of this was going on, Curtis (who also happens to be good friends with Strickland) took to Twitter to defend Ian and his wife and ask for fans to stop the rumors and leave the family alone.
“Y’all need to chill with the Ian Garry thing,” wrote Curtis in a lengthy since-deleted tweet. “Man has a life that is unconventional to you all but it’s his life and it works for him. People are giving his wife sh*t for a book she wrote 12 years ago. Ian is a grown man and you are a fool if you don’t think they haven’t.”
Unfortunately, his tweets backfired and Curtis became the target of harassment, including by Strickland himself.
If curt isn't careful he might slip and fall on Ian's dick.. https://t.co/41xgFz8KCO
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) November 25, 2023
Eventually, Curtis deactivated his Twitter account.
Ians wife got to Curtis!!!!! Some give curt a wellness check!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/JYEmPIdjFf
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) November 25, 2023
He explained that decision on Instagram.
"Lol, here's the thing, guys. I'll catch some flack for this, but whatever, the mma community apparently loves when people keep it real, so we will see. The reality is that mma fans come in two very distinct camps. Actual fans and people who exist on social media. Never had a bad fan experience in person, I love interacting with you guys face to face, but Twitter is just a safe haven for people who have never accomplished anything to be given a voice in things that are beyond them," he wrote.
Chris Curtis explains why he deleted his Twitter account. I don't blame him one bit, the vibe on this app is DARK pic.twitter.com/kUqL2qv9xg
— Amy Kaplan (@PhotoAmy33) November 26, 2023
"It always has been really but Jesus mma fans on Twitter are just cancer and at the end of the day, I genuinely don't care that much about people's weightless opinions to allow it to eat up more of my time. So, every now and then, I shut off my account to prevent the screaming masses from having a voice."
Something tells me this won't be the last that we hear from any of these people on this topic.