Jack Della Maddalena's coach goes nuclear on Ian Machado Garry for "trying to be a celebrity"
With the belt around Jack Della Maddalena’s waist after a solid win against Belal Muhammad at UFC 315, potshots are already flying towards the Australian, but his coach isn't letting them slide.
Ian Machado Garry dismissed Della Maddalena’s gritty UFC 315 title win over Muhammad as “sloppy”. The Irishman also pulled off a playful M&M stunt during Della Maddalena’s weight cut, and the Australian fired back with a stinging jab.
Ben Vickers, Della Maddalena's head coach, ripped into the Irishman’s approach in an interview with Submission Radio. In his eyes, Garry is chasing headlines more than finishes.
Vickers sees all the jabs and the self-promotion as fluff, especially when Garry couldn’t put away fighters he was dominating. He said:
"We're not in this business to be celebrities, and Jack said in his post-fight speech, we just want to win fights and be the best. Jack loves scrapping. Jack loves training. We all love the sport and the process. He can carry on doing his thing. He should concentrate more on finishing fights, especially fights that he's dominating."
Vickers added:
"He needs to stop flying around the world trying to be a celebrity, and get in the gym and get some power and figure out how to finish fights. His time would be better spent doing that than trying to wind Jack up. You think Jack's going to bite on any of that stuff? He doesn't care, man. He's the most chilled-out dude in the world. So, yeah, it's all just a bit silly, really. ... I don't think Ian Garry will ever own one of these [UFC title] answer to your question."
Check out Ben Vickers' comments below (17:20):
Jack Della Maddalena's coach previews potential clash between UFC welterweight champion and Ian Machado Garry
Jack Della Maddalena’s head coach, Ben Vickers, painted a clear picture of a potential fight between the former and Ian Machado Garry. He expects his pupil to close the distance early, pressure forward, and start throwing heavy shots.
He also believes that Garry won’t want any part of that exchange and will spend most of the fight moving backwards, relying on push kicks and footwork to stay out of danger. Previewing the fight in the aforementioned interview with Submission Radio, he said:
"I think Carlos Prates showed that as soon as you put the pressure on Ian, he doesn't like it. So, it looks like Jack getting in his face and throwing bombs, and I think he'll be running around the cage trying to throw push kicks. That's how I see that fight going down."