Josh Thomson believes rising welterweight contender Ian Machado Garry needs to stay in his lane.
Following UFC 297’s headliner between Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis, Garry offered his reaction to the five-round title fight saying that it was like “watching two amateurs fight.” It was just another shot fired in the never-ending feud between Strickland and Garry that kicked off last year with ‘Tarzan’ targeting the Irishman’s wife in a series of scathing videos and social media posts.
Reaction: Strickland vs Du Plessis pic.twitter.com/eFQVSIy58O
— “The Future” Ian Machado Garry (@iangarryMMA) January 21, 2024
Offering his take on Garry’s latest dig at the former middleweight champ, Thomson suggested that Garry should refrain from criticizing fighters in the middle of a championship bout while he’s barely sniffing his division’s top ten.
“He hasn’t fought at that level,” Thomson said during a recent episode of the WEIGHING IN podcast. “He hasn’t fought anyone in the top five. It doesn’t matter. He’s not there yet and from what I’ve seen of him, he’s close. He’s got skill. He’s got a good body style for the MMA world. I gotta give him credit. he’s got a lot of natural talent. I’m sure he works hard to get himself there, but the bottom line is, you haven’t fought for a world title.
“So don’t criticize people in the middle of a title fight discussing how, ‘Oh, if I fight like that’ and ‘These guys look like amateur boxers.’ Son, you’ve never been there. And here’s the other thing; you may never get there.”
Thomson added that Garry’s comment about Strickland vs. Du Plessis made him look shallow, but he did acknowledge that Sean Strickland’s attacks have crossed a very clear line that should be off-limits.
“For him to come across the way he did, it’s very shallow, but look,” Thomson continued. “Once you start going at each other’s wives and girlfriends and family… If you want go to off about fighting styles, cool. Ian went off on somebody and then Sean came back with the whole wife thing. It starts becoming contagious. Now you’re giving people ammo.”
Josh Thomson and ‘Big’ John McCarthy React to Sean Strickland’s UFC 297 Media Controversy
Before stepping inside the Octagon in Toronto, Sean Strickland made headlines once again by going in on a Canadian reporter who attempted to question him on his past anti-LGBTQ tweets. Strickland, as expected, went off the rails and delivered a seething response to the journalist. At that point, Strickland had already rubbed some people the wrong way by wearing a shirt to the pre-fight press event that said, “A woman in every kitchen, a gun in every hand.”
"You ask me some stupid sh*t like that? Go f*ck yourself."
Sean Strickland went off on a reporter who pressed him on past comments about the LGBTQ community at #UFC297 media day. pic.twitter.com/wyTEcUZLbv
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) January 17, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White later slammed the journalist who asked Strickland about his three-year-old tweets, suggesting that it was an attempt to bait Strickland. Josh Thomson echoed similar sentiments while discussing the incident.
“That is you trying to get clickbait material for your own purpose and your own platform,” Thomson said. “If you are a true [member] of the MMA media, you should be asking about the fight. Are you saying you can’t control yourself enough because that provoked you so much you had to ask him? I thought we were professionals here. Be professional and ask about the fight. Ask about how his camp went. Ask about his coaches. Anything to do with the fight. That is your job. Not to stir up bullsh*t.
‘Big’ John McCarthy concurred with Thomson’s comment, but in a much more efficient manner.
“They know that Sean is a person that is going to pop off and say something and they want that,” McCarthy added.
Watch the full podcast below:
