UFC star Ian Garry married his TV host girlfriend Layla Anna-Lee in a shotgun Las Vegas wedding last night amid preparations for his return to the octagon.
Garry will be back in action on April 9 at UFC 273 against Darian Weeks, but he first had to tie the knot with British model and TV star Anna-Lee at the Sure Thing Chapel in Las Vegas.
The pair have been together since early last year and have enjoyed a whirlwind romance on Garry's path to the top MMA promotion that included a Cage Warriors welterweight title win last summer.
And they announced last September ahead of Garry's UFC debut against Jordan Williams in New York that they were engaged, committing to a low-key ceremony in Las Vegas yesterday.
The TV host posted a series of polaroid photos of the day to her Instagram following the ceremony, with the caption: "Mrs Layla Machado Garry".
Garry shared a video shadow-boxing before the pair tied the knot from their hotel room, captioning the post: "Good Morning Vegas!
"Waking up the right way for a Perfect day - Sunshine, Shadow Boxing and Sex #WeddingDay."
They also shared loved-up videos to their Instagram story showing them rapping along to 'One More Chance' by the Notorious B.I.G.
Garry is 24-years-old, while Anna-Lee is 38, with the pair meeting during the Irishman's time in Cage Warriors where she hosted segments for the promotion.
When a pal asked about the surprise wedding, Garry responded: "Oh yes sorry, runaway wedding."
The Irishman shot to stardom with his first round KO on the buzzer at UFC 268 against Williams, who had made him work for his eighth career win.
Garry stopped the American with a vicious right hand to announce himself on the world stage before channeling Conor McGregor to revive the former two-weight world champion's 'takeover' message.
Do you believe Ian Garry can become a UFC champion at welterweight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
He will face another stern test in Weeks on the undercard of Alexander Volkanovski's featherweight title defence against Chan Sung Jung, also known as the 'Korean Zombie'.
The 5-1 fighter, who also holds a professional boxing record of 1-1, lost his UFC debut, but was undefeated prior and had won all five of his fights within two rounds.
Weeks was also a solid amateur and will be a strong gauge of Garry's level since moving to Florida for his UFC debut.
Prior to becoming Cage Warriors champion last summer, Garry was based in Dublin where he trained with Chris Fields and Tom King at Team KF.
But they drifted apart and just days out from his bout with Jack Grant for the belt, the coaches confirmed that they wouldn't be cornering Garry.
There were rumours that Anna-Lee herself would corner the Irishman for the fight, but he instead opted to go with fellow Irish fighter Paul Hughes.
