Ian Machado Garry admits that ‘retiring’ Colby Covington still might not be enough to earn a title shot, and names the two fighters who could bring him that chance.
The bitter feud between Ian Machado Garry and the former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington continues online, albeit this time; the rising Irish contender admits that even ‘retiring’ Covington might not be enough to earn him a UFC title shot.
Ian Machado Garry and his desire to ‘retire’ Colby Covington
After his split decision victory over Geoff Neal at UFC 298, Ian Machado Garry called out Colby Covington and vowed to ‘retire’ the former interim champion as he looks to rise the UFC welterweight rankings.
This led to a string of rather strange back-and-forth video messages on social media, with everything from ‘I Quit’ matches and family ‘stipulations’ being proposed – all without much tangible evidence of actual negotiations taking place.
Ian Machado Garry names two fights he could need before UFC title shot
Speaking with MMAFighting’s Guilherme Cruz in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Garry reaffirmed his belief that a fight between him and Covington would end in ‘Chaos’ removing his UFC gloves one last time:
“I don’t think the guy deserves any respect in the world, to be honest with you. The s*** he talks… I’ll step into that octagon, and I’ll retire him. That’s my goal. My whole goal to when I fight Colby Covington is that he never puts on MMA gloves ever again.”
Yet despite both the animosity between the two and the name value possessed by the outspoken American, Garry also admitted that even a lightning-quick KO might not guarantee him a shot at the UFC welterweight title.
“I don’t want a title shot after this, I want to beat another [Top 10 guy],” said Garry, adding that before he gets an opportunity to fight for the 170-pound belt, “I want to beat one of the baddest men on the planet.”
Should Garry get the fight with Covington and subsequently earn a statement win, he knows exactly who can deliver him a title shot next:
“I want to fight a [Kamaru] Usman, [or] a Shavkat [Rakhmonov], give me one of the guys that are one or two in the world; let me dominate them and then give me my title.”
Garry doubts that Covington would be willing to return to Rio
Back to the Covington feud, and Garry has also been calling for the fight to happen in Brazil, where ‘he ‘The Future’ trains and lives; yet that remains extremely unlikely to happen, given what went down the last time that ‘Chaos’ landed in Rio:
“I don’t think Colby Covington wants to come back to Rio after all the s*** he said last time he was in Brazil versus Demian [Maia].”
“I think he’ll stay away. I think he’d end up dead. That’s the truth, I think he’d end up dead. I think there’s no way that happens, because Colby is too much of a b****,” shared Garry.
“But I will fight in Brazil one day, and I will be so happy to put on the yellow shorts and be the main event in Brazil, and I’ll carry the Irish flag on one shoulder and the Brazilian flag on the other.”