Chael Sonnen praises Ian Machado Garry ahead of UFC 330 bout

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DOHA, QATAR - NOVEMBER 22: (L-R) Bruce Buffer introduces Ian Machado Garry of Ireland prior to his fight during the UFC Fight Night event at ABHA Arena on November 22, 2025 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) Ian Machado Garry has the Chael Sonnen seal of approval. This Saturday, Garry challenges Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330. Heading into the fight, much has been made of Garry’s recent comments about women ruling the world, with several prominent MMA figures ripping him and huge swaths of the community sharing that displeasure. But Chael Sonnen says he’s doing everything just write. In a video posted to his YouTube channel titled “Ian Garry is the Perfect Bad Guy,” Sonnen argues that Garry has become one of the best villains in MMA right now. “There is nothing more monitizable than a cool heel,” Sonnen said. “Stone Cold Steve Austin was a cool heel. The Rock was a cool heel. Kevin Nash was a cool heel. Why do I say that? Because Ian Garry is over, man. Ian Garry is over in a massive way. And yeah, a lot of it is with boos, and a lot of it is with a negative energy. “Roddy Piper, rest his soul, gave my advice one time. … He came up to me, unsolicited, and said, ‘Hey, Chael, do not change anything. Eventually the crowd will love you for the very things they hate you for today. Don’t give in to them. When they’re telling you to change, they don’t really want it. The emotion that they get from booing you is stronger than the emotion that the ones that give love have. The desire to see somebody lose is stronger than the desire to see somebody win.’” Sonnen, of course, has some experience in these matters. Sonnen rose to prominence in MMA on the back of his heel persona and his rivalry with Anderson Silva, playing the foil to the all-time great. And looking at Garry, Sonnen sees some of himself in “The Future.” “The thing that was different, I genuinely didn’t mind the boos,” Sonnen said. “And the number one reason you don’t have bad guys in this sport is they can’t take the heat. They say they don’t care, but they do. They say, ‘As long as you bought a ticket, as long as you had an emotion, I’ve done my job.’ They care. They can’t handle the boos. And I could. But that’s also where I bring Ian Garry into it. … “Ian Garry is a real funny one, because he’s never done anything wrong. … Now what, he’s a bad guy because he said something nice about women? Eh. I’d like to be there with you, I just can’t. We hate Ian because Ian stood by his wife? I’d like to be there with you, but I just can’t. And Ian’s ability to draw, even if it’s with boos, his ability to draw … Roddy Piper was right when he said, ‘You don’t need to change, they will. Give it time. They will change.’ … “I feel that Ian Garry is closer to that vain. Ian Garry has struck something here. There’s something here. When there’s an Ian Garry interview, when there’s an Ian Garry press conference, something is happening. I can feel it the whole time I watch, something is going to happen.” UFC 330 takes place this Saturday at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. TOP STORIES Weight. Patchy Mix misses weight by a staggering amount at RIZIN 54 weigh-ins. Pedestal. Ian Machado Garry explains why he puts Islam Makhachev on a ‘pedestal’ ahead of UFC 330 showdown. Heavy. Michael Morales weighs an astonishing amount less than a week out from backup role for UFC 330. RIZIN. Ex-champ Kleber Koike enters ‘last shot’ for RIZIN title with eyes on PFL, MVP merger. Farewell. Edson Barboza: UFC 330 ‘could be the finish line’ for career. Wrestling. Arman Tsarukyan vs. Dillon Danis set for title clash at RAF 14. VIDEO STEW UFC 330 Embedded. Deep dive into Contender Series. Deep Waters. Cooking with Volk. Your boy on Submission Radio. FLAVOR IN YOUR EAR Fighter vs. Writer. View Link SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE Just retire. That looks way better than fighting. Every morning is a chance to get better. Even the quiet ones. ❤️🙏 pic.twitter.com/9DcoZlzCJn — Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) August 10, 2026 Training. Everyone says they can handle themselves. Few actually trained for it.#ufc #paulocosta #secretjuice pic.twitter.com/dmm021jIB6 — Paulo Costa (@BorrachinhaMMA) August 10, 2026 You already know the date. Now the countdown begins ⏳ #ufc #ufcbrasil #countdown #robocop pic.twitter.com/RT1nT6GHfu — Gregory “Robocop” Rodrigues (@gregory_mma) August 10, 2026 Get him, Matt! Love you Chael but this is the worst list in history. https://t.co/lOPriQbqUT — Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) August 10, 2026 King Green continuing his boxing side quests. 😳 King Green sparred pro boxer Arnold Barboza Jr. and got rocked during their session. Barboza is the current WBO Global welterweight champion with a professional record of 33-1. pic.twitter.com/aEqBrhRvhk — Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) August 10, 2026 FEED ME MORE Give me more questions. FINAL THOUGHTS While I agree with Chael in principle that Garry is a good heel for this moment in the sport, I think we have different definitions of what that means. People loved The Rock and Stone Cold. I have never met someone who loves Ian Machado Garry. So while he can rile the fan base, I don’t think he can engender adoration in the same way. If you find something you’d like to see in the Morning Report, hit up @AlexanderKLee or @JedKMeshew on Twitter and let us know about it. Also, follow MMAFighting on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitch, and like us on Facebook.