Ian Machado Garry Lights Up Colby Covington after UFC Tampa Booking

UFC 310's Ian Machado Garry says Colby Covington came "out of the shadows" following news of the Shavkat Rakhmonov fight.

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Colby Covington and Ian Machado Garry both return to the UFC this December, just not against each other...

The two welterweights have been butting heads over a potential fight all year, with Garry calling out Covington to 'sign the contract' and Covington saying there was never a contract to begin with. Whatever the case is, the top contenders have been booked against other fighters on relatively short notice.

The undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov was scheduled to face Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title at UFC 310, however an injury forced the champ to withdraw, leaving Garry to step up and fight a week sooner than he was supposed to.

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Garry Reacts To Covington Fighting Joaquin Buckley

As fate would have it, Garry's original opponent Joaquin Buckley would be booked against Covington in the new main event of UFC Tampa on Dec. 14 - the man Garry had been campaigning to fight all this time.

You might imagine how the Irishman took to the news.

"This just shows that this p**** is ducking me," Garry said of the Buckley vs. Covington fight announcement on Instagram. "He's been ducking me for 7-8 months. I signed for the baddest man in the division and this guy comes out of the shadows. He's a p****. He's a b**** and one day I'll get my hands on him."

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Garry Asks Buckley To Sleep Heated Rival

A war of words left unfinished with Covington and Rakhmonov front-and-center as his next opponent, Garry is rooting for Buckley to get the job done a week later in Tampa, Florida.

"Joaquin Buckley, I'm behind you 100% of the way. Go out and put that man to sleep," Garry said of the #9 UFC Welterweight contender riding a five-fight win streak.

Joaquin Buckley became the second fighter ever to KO Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson at UFC 307 in October. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Former interim champion Colby Covington hasn't fought since a third undisputed title defeat to Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December, with his last win coming over the formerly-retired Jorge Masvidal more than 2 years ago.

Former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Colby Covington. / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

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