“Guys, I never talk about anybody’s spouses, but this **** ain’t right. It ain’t ****ing right. I got to talk about it. Ian Garry, I remember when I met you dude, it was in New York… I remember thinking to myself, there ain’t something right about that girl.

“Now I’m finding out you’re 26, she’s ****ing 40. The ex ****ing husband lives with you, you took the last name. Mother****er she wrote a book on how to be a WAG, I didn’t know what a WAG was until now dude. This **** ain’t right dude, she’s a succubus. You got to run away bro,” Strickland stated 

Brundage responded to Strickland’s comments by referencing how personal remarks bring the sport into disrepute. He also highlighted Colby Covington’s comments about Leon Edwards’ father during the build-up for their UFC 296 clash. Edwards was defending his UFC Welterweight Title as Covington sought to get in his opponent’s head. But by bringing up Edwards’ father, who had been murdered, he crossed a line.

“I’m bringing you to the seventh layer of hell. We’ll say ‘what’s up’ to your dad while we’re there,” Covington said

“Why would I have sympathy for a sex trafficker, someone who’s impacted and hurt a lot of people’s lives? The truth always stings the worst in the world. So, no, I don’t feel bad about that at all. Let’s talk about all the victims that he left behind that are surviving of the trauma and the turmoil that he put these people’s lives through,” Covington added 

Brundage Responds

Edwards responded by throwing a bottle at him. Covington ultimately failed to back up his trash talk, losing his third-world title fight. But this tendency to make things personal has not gone down well.

“MMA is like a circus. It’s unbelievable. It’s a total freak show. In one breath, you’re saying, ‘Don’t come at me about my family! You can’t talk about a man’s wife, you can’t talk about a man’s past,’ and things like that. And then in your next breath, you’re telling Ian Garry he’s a ‘cuck’ and his wife is a ‘predator.’ It just doesn’t make sense, bro. And to me, it’s disgusting. I’m glad that hasn’t happened to me. I would not respond the same way some of these other people do,” Brundage revealed