After pursuing the matchup for nearly one year with no success, Ian Machado Garry was as stunned as anyone to see Colby Covington take his place against Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63.
Machado Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) was originally hoping to fight Covington (17-4 MMA, 12-4 UFC) in the Dec. 14 main event in Tampa, Fla., but was instead paired with Buckley. But then welterweight champion Belal Muhammad fell out of Saturday’s UFC 310 in Las Vegas, resulting in Machado Garry being shifted into a co-main event showdown with fellow unbeaten contender Shavkat Rakhmonov on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The shuffle then saw Covington emerge for the first time since his third failed title shot against then-champ Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023, taking the short-notice headliner with Buckley.
“I was seething,” Machado Garry said Monday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “How do you think I feel? Because I’ve been screaming and shouting about fighting that man from the rafters. This man’s made videos about me, my wife, my kids – talking about all this sh*t. And here’s this man avoiding me like the plague, and then the second I book in against the scariest man in the division, he’s like, ‘Oh, I’ll fight in Florida.’
“It just proves, it just shows that he’s a coward, that he wants nothing to do with me. The truth is I already know I’ve beaten him. I know I’ve already mentally beaten him. He’s weak. He’s an absolute coward, and I believe he’s going to go out there and get absolutely steamrolled by Joaquin Buckley. I think Buckley starches him.”
Machado Garry vs. Covington a lost cause?
UFC CEO Dana White has dubbed Machado Garry vs. Rakhmonov as a title eliminator at 170 pounds. The winner will face Muhammad in his first title defense in 2025, and if Machado Garry is the one to come out with the belt, he admits a booking with Covington might be out the window for good.
“I understand the type of person Colby Covington is,” Machado Garry said. “He is someone who is trying to stay relevant by calling out the people that are generating traction. Myself, Shavkat, Belal Muhammad – even Charles (Oliveira) at one point. He was saying he wanted to fight Charles. These are all to keep relevance to his name because his stock is plummeting so low because no one cares about him anymore.
“I want that fight because of how much trash he talked, but I’m well aware when I beat Shavkat on Saturday night, it’s me being booked against Belal Muhammad for the world title in 2025. I’m going to go out there and win that world title, and Colby Covington is far, far, far in the rear-view mirror.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
