Ian Machado Garry kept the receipts.
For anyone who doubts the legitimacy of a proposed fight between him and Colby Covington at UFC 303, top-10 welterweight Garry has emails showing the proposal and his immediate acceptance. Unfortunately, Garry says the same can't be said for Covington, who ended up facing Michael “Venom” Page instead as the UFC lost interest.
“I'll send you an email. I've been offered the fight,” Gary said. MMA Hour. “I was offered the fight, June 29th at UFC 303, Ian Machado-Garry vs. Colby Covington. I responded to it and said yes. I had a lot of calls with UFC, a lot of back and forth with UFC about why it wasn't accepted, why it wasn't being pushed, why it wasn't going to happen.
“I spoke to them on the phone a lot because I knew that was the fight I wanted. [for] “It's the fight I want. At the end of the day, if my opponent is scared of me, I'm not going to have him step in the Octagon with me.”
Gary said that while he had no hesitation in taking the fight, he had heard many reasons why Covington wouldn't fight back.
“To be honest, in my mind, there were a lot of different reasons that didn't add up,” Garry said. “At first, he [medically cleared]And then it was, “Oh, he's OK, he wants the fight.” He talks about fighting, fighting, fighting, but then he doesn't accept it.
“The truth is, I think he's just avoiding me. [thing]He's just avoiding fights because he knows, 'Ian Garry is too dangerous to be in the Octagon with me. Let's wait and find somebody else.'”
Garry proposed the Covington fight for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the insults the three-time title challenger hurled at Garry, his wife and family in interviews leading up to Covington's loss to Leon Edwards last December.
Covington's tirade against Gary has not abated since then, calling the Irishman a “liar” and claiming he was never offered the fight.
Still, deep down, Gary believes Covington knows why the fight never happened.
“Sitting here right now, I don't know if he would be open to fighting me,” Gary said. “I think Colby Covington looked at me and realized it was the end of his career. A young, talented prospect, very sharp, very fast, very smart, unlike any fighter he's ever faced. When you're getting to the end of your career and you're beating guys who are not going to be world champions, who are not going to be the best, and you're just trying to stay relevant, that's a scary thing.
“He'll find an easier opponent and I can't imagine a world where Colby would fight me, but if he wants to do it, then by all means, because you said too much to me not to fight me in the Octagon.”
Of course, Gary knows that if another fight with Covington were to come about, it would be very hard to turn it down.
“I would never say it's over,” Gary said. “The guy has said so much bad stuff that I have no choice but to step in the Octagon and beat him. He deserves to get his head knocked off.”
When it came time to shift the focus from Covington to Page at UFC 303, Gary confessed it wasn't easy, but it's just part of the job.
Ideally, he'd like to knock out Covington on Saturday night, but even if there's no real ill will between them, he'll likely try to do the same with Page.
“I was so excited to fight Colby,” Gary said. “I was just trying to take Colby down, punch him in the mouth and shut him up, just really comfort him and beat him in every way I could, but he got away. He said no, so it was hard to switch that energy again, switch that mindset to, 'Okay, who's next?' And then opponent after opponent said no, no, no, no, no. And then we ended up losing, and MVP said no at first, but then he changed his tune and came back and said yes.”
“Yes, it was tough, but it's not like that anymore. I'm OK now. I'm one of the best fighters on the planet. I'm going to go out there and prove it. MVP is my role model.”
