This week the huge welterweight contender fight between Ian Machado Garry and Vicente Luque was pulled due to the Irishman falling ill.
It had been a turbulent build up to fight week for Garry, a lot of media and fighters were commenting on his personal life and relationships this comes due to Garry himself being quite a brash and outspoken character in the UFC. This week was an opportunity for Garry to silence the noise and put all the speculation to bed. First rumours of the illness broke around media day as he did not show for the press conference. Immediately speculation began to swirl that he was not showing due to the comments being made on his personal life but it then became clear it was an illness that stopped Garry attending. Dana White confirmed that the welterweight prospect had Pneumonia and was out of the fight at UFC 296. Even with the confirmation from the UFC President many fighters and media members still had suspicions about the pull out.
Ian Machado Garry on TNT Sport
On the live TNT Sport weigh in show Garry called in to clear up a few things and evidence his illness over the phone.
“I can barely breathe,” Machado Garry stated on the show. “It’s upsetting and irritating because you guys know I love to fight more than anything and I’ve never pulled out of a fight. I’ve never been in this situation, but here we are, and I’m going to deal with it the way we deal with it, the best in the world.” Quote via Heavy.com
It was evident that Garry was struggling for breath and struggling to speak whilst on call. Still after the video emerged fighters were not convinced with the call and still has suspicions on the withdrawal.
Vincente Luque Reacts With Class
Unfortunately for Luque a new match up could not be scheduled for UFC 296 despite late efforts from Kevin Holland but after the news broke the Brazilian released a video on his Instagram wishing Garry a speedy recovery this was what he had to say.
“First of all, I wish the best recovery. Speedy recovery for him, and the best for his family and it’s really unfortunate,”
“I was so ready for this fight. I’ve had a great training camp. Anybody that sees me on social media sees a little bit of what I’ve been doing. They know how ready I am for this fight. Weight cut has been going so, so good – the easiest weight cut I’ve ever had in my career. I have all my team here supporting me. A lot of guys came out in this fight. A lot of people supported me to come watch the fight, as well, and unfortunately it’s not going to happen.” Quotes via Heavy.com
Many fans are hoping that the fight can be rebooked in 2024.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
