This weekend, we’ll witness a showdown between two of the fiercest welterweight fighters, Leon Edwards and Colby Covington. “Rocky” will defend his title in the main event of UFC 296. The stacked card makes this event one of the best of the year. However, a setback has taken place ahead of the event as the Ian Garry vs Vicente Luque fight got canceled. In light of the fact that Ian Garry pulled out from UFC 296 due to pneumonia, which sparked reactions from UFC stars from Henry Cejudo to Kevin Holland have shared their opinions, making it the talk of the town.
Chael Sonnen was the first to report Garry’s withdrawal, and the UFC President later confirmed it after the media day. The fight’s cancellation was confirmed, revealing that what initially appeared to be the flu turned out to be pneumonia. Despite efforts to overcome it, Garry couldn’t recover in time for the event. White stated,
“Alright guys, I know its out there, there is some speculation that Ian Garry and Luque is off. It is true. Ian Garry started with the flu that turned into pneumonia. So that fight is off and is not happening. It is true.”
— danawhite (@danawhite) December 14, 2023
Subsequently, Henry Cejudo reacted to White’s announcement, expressing that he saw it coming. He mentioned that involving family in these situations can mess with someone psychologically. He stated,
“So Ian Garry just pulled out, did anybody see this coming? Like I kinda raise my hand a little bit on that. The problem is not Ian Garry pulling out, you know, I pulled out before the fight because of injury or what not. I think the fact that he brought his family involved to seeing family’s safety and once you start triggering words like that, that stuff starts playing with you psychologically.”
Henry Cejudo reacts to Ian Garry pulling out of Vicente Luque fight pic.twitter.com/4KhBfxZTVA
— Best MMA Moments (@XcellentMMA) December 14, 2023
With that being said, more personalities from the MMA community reacted to the news. Let’s take a look at their reactions below.
Which other stars reacted to Ian Garry after he withdrew from UFC 296?
Apart from Cejudo, Kevin Holland, Terrence McKinney, and Derek Brunson reacted to this as follows.
How to be a #mma WAG –
Block comments on his social media.
Spend his money (before he has it).
Skip presser so nobody asks about the above ☝🏿
Give him food poisoning so he has to pull from fight.
Then he will be sad and really think he needs you. #HowTo #WAG— Kevin Holland (@Trailblaze2top) December 14, 2023
Ian Garry just pulled out.
The ex husband helped.— Terrance McKinney (@twrecks155) December 14, 2023
Terrance McKinney’s tweet read,
“Ian Garry just pulled out. The ex husband helped.”
No Garry vs Luque… I was looking forward to that fight … 🥲
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) December 14, 2023
While Kevin Holland jokingly shared steps to be an MMA WAG, McKinney suggested that in the ongoing drama, Garry’s wife’s ex-husband played a role in helping him pull out from the match. Not just UFC stars, but PFL star Brunson also showed his disappointment of no Garry vs Luque.
While he has withdrawn from the Vicente Luque matchup, it will be interesting to see when he will make his comeback. It will also be interesting to see whom he will face next—whether it will be Luque or someone else.