Who Is Ian Machado Garry's Wife? All About Layla Machado Garry (and the Sweet Reason the MMA Fighter Took Her Maiden Name!)

Mar. 15, 2025

Ian Garry celebrates his Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship win with Layla.Photo:Layla Machado Garry/ Instagram

Layla Machado Garry/ Instagram

Mixed martial artist Ian Machado Garry has found his “soulmate” in his wife, Layla Machado Garry.

Sincethe professional athlete first postedwith the sports journalist in March 2021, the two have experienced several milestones together.Ian and Layla wedin February 2022 beforewelcoming their son, Leandro Vegas Machado Garry, later that fall.

Prior to tying the knot with the MMA fighter, Layla was married to nutritionist Richard Cullen, with whom she shares a son. Today, their families are blended and havespent time on the roadafter Ian hired Cullen as a nutritionist on his team.

So who is Ian Machado Garry’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Layla Machado Garry and her relationship with the MMA fighter.

She’s a sports broadcast journalist

Ian Garry and Layla take a selfie together while on a trip to Dubai.Layla Machado Garry/ Instagram

Since then, she’s presented for ESPN, UFC, NBA, FIFA and UEFA, according toher website. Layla also served as the narrator of the London Olympic opening ceremony in July 2012 and co-hosted The Best FIFA Football Awards alongside actorIdris Elbain October 2017.

In addition, the British native hosted several programs for Cage Warriors, Karate Combat and Ultimate Boxxer. Layla was also the face of her own show on UFC Fight Pass titled5 Reason Why. In 2021, Layla launched the UFC podcastVoice Notes, which released a dozen episodes that year.

She and Ian went Instagram official in 2021

Ian Garry and Layla take a mirror selfie.Ian Garry/ Instagram

Ian Garry/ Instagram

While the couple haven’t shared details about how they first met and when their relationship began, Ian shared a special moment they experienced in March 2021.

A few days later, Ian shared another picture featuring Layla as they rode the elevator together. “Life is moving fast and I couldn’t be happier,“he captioned the selfie.

Later that summer, in June 2021, Layla posted her first photo with Ian onher own Instagram, congratulating him on winning the Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship.

“Words will never do justice in expressing my joy and pride for you,” she penned alongside a photo of them.

They married in Las Vegas in 2022

Layla Machado Garry kisses Ian Machado Garry at a friend’s wedding in September 2024.Ian Garry/ Instagram

Ian and Layla married in late February 2022 in an intimate Las Vegas chapel wedding.

The bride wore a sweetheart rhinestone floor-length dress, while the groom opted for an all-white embossed suit.

Shortly after, Layla announced the newson Instagramwith a series of photos. Over the next two weeks, both she and Ian posted more pictures of their elopement, including one of them in front ofa drive-thru white chapel.

On their second wedding anniversary, he penned her a heartfelt letter onInstagram, writing, in part, “Without you this journey wouldn’t be possible. You are everything to me.”

They share one child together

Ian Garry and wife Layla Machado Garry attend a crossover boxing event at AO Arena on October 14, 2023 in Manchester, England.Antony Jones/DAZN via Getty

Antony Jones/DAZN via Getty

Ian and Layla welcomed their son, Leandro “Leo” Vegas Machado Garry, on Oct. 20, 2022.

Layla shared behind-the-scenes photos from her home birth onInstagram, thanking Leo “for gifting us so much joy already.”

Ina different post, Ian praised Layla for inspiring him to be “a better man, husband and now father.”

Layla is also a mom to an older son, whom she welcomed with her ex-husband, Cullen. Ina self-published blog post, the sports journalist opened up about why she keepsher older child off social mediaand why she’s committed to protecting his privacy.

“I’m insanely proud of my son and often have to hold back the desire to post adorably gorgeous photos of him,” she wrote. “I naturally want to hold him up to the world and scream ‘Look at what we made he’s awesome!’ but I have to hold back because that is his image.”

Ian took Layla’s maiden name as his own

Ian Garry and Layla eat together.Layla Machado Garry/ Instagram

In a February 2024 interview withCBS Sports, Ian opened up about hyphenating his last name to include “Machado.” The MMA fighter shared that while it acknowledged Layla’s Brazilian roots, it was also a way to unify their family.

“Obviously, having the link to Brazil is amazing, and to be able to call them family, I’m very happy, very proud, very grateful," he said. “But the truth is, I only did it was because I wanted my son and my stepson to feel really connected.”

Ian continued, “I didn’t want them going through life with two separate surnames. I feel like there’s a little bit of a disconnect, and if you guys want to be brothers, I want to make sure you guys have that same connection.”

During the conversation, he also confirmed that he hired Layla’s ex-husband, Cullen, as a nutritionist so the family could stay together.

“We’ve worked phenomenally together,” Ian said. “He is a professional in one regard he’s also the father of my wife’s son. … I understand that there’s a child in all of this, and he deserves to be prioritized.”

She and Ian have matching tattoos

Ian Garry and Layla take a selfie.Layla Machado Garry/ Instagram

In May 2023, Ian earned himself a top 15 spot in the UFC rankings aftera first-round knockout winagainst Daniel Rodriguez. He and his team, alongside Layla, celebrated the career milestone with matching number 15 tattoos.

Ian showed off the fresh ink on his right shin in a since-deleted video, in which Layla also got the number tattooed on the left side of her ribcage.

However, this isn’t the pair’s first shared tattoo experience. In 2021, Iangot Layla’s name tattooedin cursive on the side of his right forearm. They also have the same heart tattoo with an arrow onhis handandher forearm.

In addition, Ian gotthe word “soulmate"inked on his knuckles —a common phrasehe and Layla call each other.

source: people.com