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Ian Machado Garry Offers to Fight ‘Coward’ Colby Covington Week after UFC 310

Ian Machado Garry goes off on Colby Covington following his booking vs. Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa.

Christopher De Santiago

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Undefeated records, championships, you name it - Ian Machado Garry wants it all, including a long-awaited, much asked-for grudge match against Colby Covington.

On the rise is Ireland's Garry at #7 in the UFC welterweight rankings, who returns in the co-main event of UFC 310 against his steepest challenge to date: the 18-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov. This wasn't originally the plan, however, as Garry was supposed to fight Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa a week later.

Infamous UFC Biter to Fight Ex-Champ in Budding Rival Promotion

Garry: Covington 'Avoiding Me Like The Plague'

Champ Belal Muhammad's injury sent the division into a whirlwind as Garry stepped in to fight Rakhmonov, while the fighter he's been calling out the most, Colby Covington, is now scheduled vs. Buckley.

"I've been screaming and shouting about fighting that man from the rafters," Garry said of Covington on the Ariel Helwani Show on Monday. "This man's made videos about me, my wife, my kids, talked all this s***. And here's this man avoiding me like the plague."

"The second I book in against the scariest man in the division, he's like, 'Oh, I'll fight in Florida.' It just shows that he's a coward, that he wants nothing to do with me. The truth is I know I've already beaten him. I know I've already mentally beaten him. He's weak. He's an absolute coward."

Of course, both Garry and Covington have somebody else to worry about this month, facing the new blood of the welterweight division in Rakhmonov and Buckley. Garry predicts that his originally scheduled opponent will "steamroll" Covington at UFC Tampa.

Ian Garry Offers to Fight ‘Coward’ Colby Covington Week after UFC 310
UFC's Ian Machado Garry. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Garry Claims He'd Fight Covington If He Comes Out Unscathed At UFC 310

Confident as ever heading into his fight with Rakhmonov in Las Vegas, Garry could see a world where he seizes not only the next title opportunity, but bragging rights over Covington the following week.

"Here's my ideal scenario: I go out there December 7th, and I take out Shavkat early. I come out of there unscathed, uninjured. I get on the mic, I say, 'Hey. I could wait until next year when Belal Muhammad's back or... walk my a** all the way down to Florida, and I could beat the bollocks out of Colby Covington for 25 minutes. I can prove how good I am next week.'"

Ian Garry Offers to Fight ‘Coward’ Colby Covington Week after UFC 310
UFC's Colby Covington. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

"[Covington] talks a lot, but he's not willing to back it up. That would be my deal. I would love to beat Shavkat, and the following week, fight as the main event in Tampa, and bury Colby Covington, and leave him dead and done in that Octagon, never to be seen again."

Two fights in two weeks? The feat is highly unlikely for Garry with all sorts of moving parts, but it has been done before multiple times. As you may recall, Khamzat Chimaev fought twice in 10 days back in 2020, breaking the UFC record for shortest time between wins.

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Christopher De Santiago
CHRISTOPHER DE SANTIAGO

Christopher De Santiago is a 22 year-old journalist from Gainesville, Texas with years of experience covering MMA.

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