Ian Garry’s Wife Publicly Thanks Former Opponent Carlos Prates

February 4, 2026

Ian Garry’s wife Layla has publicly thanked Carlos Prates for defending her after being asked an inappropriate question at a press conference.

Garry defeated Prates last April, but the Brazilian welterweight contender showed total respect to his former opponent and his wife with his response.

Ian Garry’s Wife Publicly Thanks Carlos Prates

Ian Garry’s wife has publicly thanked former foe Carlos Prates for defending her when asked an inappropriate question by a media member in a UFC 325 fight week press event.

Garry climbed the latest UFC welterweight rankings from third to second following Shavkat Rakhmonov’s lengthy injury, and looks set to challenge Islam Makhachev for the UFC Welterweight Title later this year.

This comes after impressive back-to-back victories over a top contender and former champion after losing for the very first time to Rakhmonov in his MMA career at UFC 310 back in December 2024.

Garry defeated former champion Belal Muhammad last time out to all but punch his ticket to a shot at the 170-pound belt, after defeating the Prates the fight prior.

https://twitter.com/acdmma_/status/2018783587319927037

‘The Future’ defeated the Brazilian in their UFC Fight Night main event last April, with Prates bouncing back in style himself with two impressive knockout victories over Geoff Neal and former champion Leon Edwards.

Although Prates and Garry are former foes and certainly aren’t friends, the 23-7 MMA fighter has defended Garry and his wife Lalya Machado Garry after being asked an inappropriate question by a media member at a UFC 325 fight week press event.

Prates was asked inappropriately by a journalist whether he had slept with Garry’s wife, shutting him down instantly with a respectful response in defence of the Irishman and his wife Layla.

Garry’s wife has since thanked Prates for his kind words, taking to Instagram to write a post on her story thanking ‘The Nightmare’ for defending her and his former welterweight rival.

Ian Garry’s wife thanks Carlos Prates for defending her:

Carlos Prates: “Where I come from, you cannot say something bad about somebody’s wife or family. They can ki** you if you say something about somebody’s family.”

Layla Machado Garry: “This means the world to us. To stand… pic.twitter.com/UzJw4WT3sc

— MMA UNCENSORED (@MMAUNCENSORED1) February 4, 2026

Could Ian Garry and Carlos Prates Fight Again In 2026?

With both Ian Machado Garry and Carlos Prates both highly ranked in the welterweight division, there is a chance that the pair may well have to share the octagon again in the near future.

For a while it looked like Garry was frozen out of the UFC Welterweight Title picture with Kamaru Usman or Michael Morales getting the shot before him despite being lower ranked, but that has since changed with Garry now the #2 ranked 170-pound contender.

The Brazilian is currently ranked three spots behind Garry at #5, and himself isn’t too far away from landing a shot at Makhachev or the welterweight crown in the near future.

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If Garry is handed the next shot at Makhachev and the welterweight belt, then Prates will likely face off in a final eliminator with someone like Morales, Usman or Jack Della Maddalena.

If Prates wins his next fight and Garry dethrones Makhachev, then a rematch between the pair with the 170-pound belt on the line is a real possibility.

There are several other routes to Garry vs Prates 2 happening as well, not just this scenario. Both are still relatively young in their MMA careers, so could well fight years down the line, if not later this year.

Although the pair have trained together and even become friends since their bout last year, business comes first and if a fight between the pair made both financial and business sense, then it would most definitely happen.