UFC 298: Ian Machado Garry says 'masculinity has been lost in a ...

Murmurs of concern started to drift between members of the media when Ian Machado Garry did not show up for his interviews before UFC 296 in Las Vegas in December.

The card was headlined by a welterweight title bout between Britain's Leon Edwards and Colby Covington, but the build-up had been dominated by Machado Garry.

As the Irishman prepared to fight Vicente Luque, former middleweight champion Sean Strickland had attacked Machado Garry's wife online amid a wider wave of social media trolling.

But things were about to get worse for the 26-year-old from Portmarnock, who had contracted pneumonia.

The lung infection led to the fight being cancelled, but also robbed Machado Garry of the chance to publicly address the abuse his family had received.

Now fully recovered, Machado Garry looks back on the experience with mixed emotions, but says "a line was crossed" when his wife, 40, was targeted.

"That's where my boundaries lie. If you want to talk about my wife and the age gap, fine, go ahead. Guess what? When I married her I knew she was older, but I loved her," Machado Garry tells BBC Sport.

"When on earth did other men care about what other men do with their life choices and who they want to spend their time with? I don't know.

"Masculinity has got lost in a cycle of online hate and toxicity, as opposed to saying 'all right, I wouldn't do that but I'm not him'.

"But again I pulled my wife closer, I pulled my son closer, I loved them more, gave them more time and care, because they are what matter to me in this world."

Despite the difficulties Machado Garry and his family faced, he is able to use the experience to his advantage, adding that people talking about him shows he is doing something right.

On Saturday Machado Garry, who is unbeaten during his 13-fight career, will be in the spotlight again as he takes on American welterweight Geoff Neal at UFC 298 in Anaheim, California.

"When people are talking about me and my family in a negative way, it's very upsetting and very hard to deal with," said Machado Garry.

"However, as someone who is very young in this game, who's still got a lot to prove, the fact I was fighting on one of the biggest pay-per-views of the year and everybody was talking about me means that we're doing something right and that people care.

"The truth is I have a family and team I love and support. They are the people who deserve my time, energy and praise and the camaraderie feeling of 'we've done this together'."

In November it emerged Machado Garry had been told not to return Edwards' gym, with the welterweight champion citing the Irishman's "energy" as not matching the culture of his team.

Edwards objected to Machado Garry's team bringing cameras into the gym, but he says filming his work can spread a positive message.

"We want to share positivity with the world because I want to inspire people," said Machado Garry.

"If I put something on my Instagram I want kids in Ireland to go 'I want to travel the world and train with the best fighters in the world like Ian Garry'. That's my goal.

"If I can pass on that fun, that excitement, that energy, that positivity, and I get attention back because people recognise my skillset, it's a win-win.

"I never wanted to be famous but people recognising me out of appreciation for my talent, that's pretty cool."

Machado Garry lives a nomadic lifestyle, training at multiple gyms across the world with no permanent home, unlike the majority of fighters.

In preparation for his cancelled bout against Luque and the upcoming fight with Neal, he has been training at the Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil, with Machado Garry adding he has finally found what he has been looking for in a gym.

"It's been an amazing place. The energy, the family bond that team has, the way they protect," said Machado Garry.

"They pulled me and my wife aside one day and talked to us about seeing all the stuff online and said 'we love you, all this stuff online is ridiculous, and if you want all 65 of us to fly from Brazil to Vegas to be with you on fight week, we will'.

"That's pretty cool, I've found what I've been looking for in a gym and that's energy, compassion and care."