“Little D*ck Energy”: Garry and Chimaev brawl backstage at UFC Qatar

The UFC staff and security team were quick to separate two of the promotion’s biggest stars backstage after UFC Qatar on Saturday.

The promotion’s debut in Doha featured Ian Machado Garry in the co-main event, a fight that saw the Irish welterweight earn a unanimous victory over former champion Belal Muhammad. Also in attendance in Doha was middleweight champion Khamzat Chimaev, who happened to be headlining Arman Tsarukyan in the corners.

Managing some brash personalities is what fight promotions do, but Chimaev nudging Garry prior to the post-fight press conference was a little out of left field.

The two initially seemed cordial, until security appeared to step between them, causing Garry to exclaim that Chiamev would not fight him. That seemed to be based on the fact that their interaction had been cordial, rather than claiming Chimaev was afraid to fight him – but it got ‘Borz’ going anyway. Chimaev shoved Garry after he asked him what was going on, and suddenly security had a reason to get involved.

“That’s just childish. You’re supposed to be a champion in this sport,” Garry can be heard saying to Chimaev immediately after the push. Gary later posted images of the incident on social media.

Garry also discussed the altercation during his speech appearance at the post-fight press conference.

“I went to Khamzat and said, ‘Hey champ, how are you? When will we see you again?’ He says, ‘I don’t know, brother. Whenever. Crush.” I was like, ‘Okay, cool. Sweet.’ When he slaps me on the back, I’m like, OK, cool. The security man comes to stand in front of us. We were literally just being cool with each other, he’s not going to fight me – and then that childish energy comes out. “Ahh, f*ck you brother, f*ck you.” Boom. Trying to push me. I just turned around and said, ‘You’re meant to be a champion of this sport. You’re a child.’ You’re taking away your friend’s victory here. How about you calm down, slow down and have a little respect for your friend here instead of stealing the headlines.

Garry would later label it a derisive term for Chimaev’s masculinity. “You want the honest truth? It’s little d*ck energy. You’re the champion of the world. No one needs to see you’re tough. You don’t have to have these anger management issues. Just be a man. Sorry. I’ll get him one day.”

Chimaev meanwhile claimed in his own statement during Arman Tsarukyan’s appearance after the press conference that Garry had hit him from behind, although no such action had yet been seen on video footage.

“Don’t hit someone from behind, you know. He hit, like he hit my back,” Chimaev said. At one point you see Garry put his arm on Chiamev’s shoulder, but not in an aggressive way and certainly not with a punch. “If you want to show respect, touch someone respectfully. That’s what I tell him, touch someone respectfully. But he came like that to create hype. You know that guy, who’s trying to be Conor.” [McGregor]. He will never be Conor. He is a sh*t fighter.”