Did Neil Magny admit to beating his kids? Here's why Ian Garry criticized his UFC 292 opponent
Ian Garry was left gobsmacked after comments Neil Magny made regarding his parenting ahead of their UFC 292 bout.
The welterweight prospect was set to face the veteran Magny after his original opponent, Geoff Neal, withdrew because of injury. Since the new bout was announced, 'The Future' and Magny's rivalry heated up, with the Irishman taking aim at the way Magny raises his kids.
Did Neil Magny admit to beating his kids?
As a part of pre-fight mind games, Ian Garry made it look like Neil Magny admitted to beating his kids. However, it appears that Magny was trying to use the example as a metaphor to imply that Garry's behavior resembled that of a spoilt kid.
Whilst speaking to the press ahead of the UFC 292 clash, Magny appeared to suggest he was planning on "whoopin" Ian Garry similar to how he does his children. He said:
"There's a whoopin' that you give your son now, to kind of teach him life a little bit. Being a father, I've become quite accustomed to that kind of whoopin' now and that's what I'm looking forward to giving on Saturday."
Reacting to the video, Garry stated that "beating your child" shouldn't be bragged about at a press conference. He tweeted:
"Beating your child is not cool to brag about at a press conference."
The 26-year-old also filmed his reaction to Magny's comments, where he picked up his own child and promised he'd never harm them. He said:
"Word for word he just said 'being a father I've got accustomed to giving that a** whoopin'. [Garry then picks up his child] Oh my goodness, I would never whoop your a**. I'll never whoop your a** it's okay."
Ian Garry's comments had a severe impact on Neil Magny's personal life
Neil Magny lost against Ian Garry via unanimous decision in a lopsided bout. But that was not the only trouble he had to deal with because of the heated rivalry with the Irishman.
Magny, who was battling for custody of his children at the time, later revealed that Garry's comments did a lot of harm in his personal life.
Ahead of his next fight against Mike Malott, Magny told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview:
"[Garry's comments] in itself had a lot more consequences than just like nonsense at the press conference. There were literally screenshots being taken of headlines saying that I'm a child abuser and I'd do this to my kids. There were screenshots being taken and put into apps and things like that that would be admissible in court where I'm literally fighting for custody of my children."
Neil Magny added:
"When it was all said and done... there was something that came out very poorly on my end. The way he chose to blow it out of proportion has some pretty significant consequences for me. It was just a lot bigger than just selling a pay-per-view... It was literally my children's relationship [with me] was at stake at that point."
Watch Neil Magny's interview below (6:10):