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Ian Machado Garry is one of the most hyped young fighters in the UFC. He’s got big plans that include headlining the next UFC Dublin card.
Garry recently was the center of some controversy surrounding Leon Edwards after Edwards’ team told him to beat it out of their gym.
“I get that we’re both in the top 10 and you might see me as a threat,” Garry told The Independent. “but I’m not a threat to you right now; I’m not fighting for the title right now. His coach said the words: ‘Ian is a threat, I cannot have Leon having any doubts or insecurities.’”
“That makes me think someone is weak minded and can’t have another contender training on the mat. That’s why gym conflict is annoying. For me, why not have that other elite guy on the mat? Why not train with him? Why not have him push you? Why not learn and grow from each other?”
Pimblett claims UFC champ Leon Edwards already KO’d Garry in training
Garry might have a point if Paddy Pimblett is to be believed.
“Ian Garry doesn’t deserve a title shot, lad, come on,” Pimblett said in a recent interview. “Leon’s already knocked him out in training so we don’t need to know about that. That’s what I heard.”
Leon Edwards busted Garry’s tooth last year
This might be what Pimblett’s referring to.
“There’s no avoiding telling the truth,” Garry said (transcript via MMA Mania). “It just doesn’t need to be told sometimes. I may — anyone watch the Leon Edwards [versus] Usman fight? Anyone know how that went? One of the best head kicks in the UFC. Yeah, I might have felt what that kick felt like, on Wednesday morning. So yeah, Leon, I’m blaming you for my tooth f—king pain.”
Team Edwards responds to Garry’s training comments
Garry may feel hard done by that he can’t train with Edwards anymore, but Edwards’ team explained their reasoning in their own statement to The Independent.
“Sometimes the coaches allow fighters to come in from the outside,” a rep for the camp told the Independent, “but this is very much a privilege and not the norm. If the coaches feel it’s not adding to the team’s culture, a fighter is refused entrance. Ian Garry’s more nomadic approach to preparation has given him great results, but it’s not in line with what we are creating at Team Renegade. This has nothing to do with one specific fighter or a specific coach.”
UFC welterweight champ Leon Edwards is currently set to fight Colby Covington at UFC 296 in Las Vegas in December. Garry is set to fight Vicente Luque and lightweight Paddy Pimblett is booked to fight Tony Ferguson on that same card.