UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry has revealed his hit list of opponents, which includes Geoff Neal, Colby Covington, and Sean Strickland, with the aim of showcasing his skills and settling personal scores.
UFC welterweight Ian Machado Garry has a plan. A hit list, if you will. Geoff Neal, Colby Covington, and Sean Strickland are the names. That’s the order.
He spilled the beans on The MMA Hour. Explained his rationale behind the sequence. Why it’s the perfect roadmap for his career. A bout of pneumonia had him benched from UFC 296. But he’s already slated to return at UFC 298. His opponent? Neal, who he was supposed to face at UFC 292.
The first booking? That’s a no-brainer for Garry. He’s got his sights set on Neal for competitive reasons. Wants to take him down, plain and simple.
“Geoff Neal is a very, a very good body for me to showcase to the world just how elite I am and how good I am at what I do,” Garry said. Confidence? Check.
The next two, Covington and Strickland, it’s personal. These two welterweight and middleweight champs have been running their mouths. Targeting Garry and his wife, Layla Machado Garry. Spreading rumors about their relationship. Not cool.
“He’s talked about me,” Garry said of Covington. “He’s mentioned my wife. He obviously lost the fight against [Edwards]. Colby is someone who wants those big fights, someone who’s gonna chat s***, someone who’s gonna entertain the fans, someone who’s gonna bring a lot of hype to the event.
“I am going to box the ears off Colby Covington for the things he’s said, and there isn’t gonna be anybody in that world or in this octagon who’s going to be able to save, save him. I promise you now, I’ll finish him, and I’ll do it in three rounds. I don’t need five rounds to finish it. I’ll do it in two, I’ll do it in one. Colby Covington is going to be slapped, and I hope I hit him so hard that he’s never able to speak again. And I feel like a lot of people on this planet would be very happy that he never gets to speak on a mic again. So that’s what I’d like with Colby.”
On paper, Covington makes sense. He’s in the welterweight division. Strickland, on the other hand, is the 185-pound titleholder. He’s supposed to fight the most logical contenders. But Garry thinks that’s gonna change.
“I’d love Sean Strickland, because any man, or any person who ever talks or mentions me, my wife and my family in that way, I’m gonna get my hands on them,” Garry said. “And in an ideal world, toward the end of the year, I don’t think Sean’s going to be world champion any more, and I believe there’s absolutely an opportunity for me to step up to middleweight and give him a hiding, and maybe I’ll beat him so bad that he’ll forget all that trauma from his childhood and he can thank me.”
Garry’s not one to stay silent. He’s hit back at Strickland after the champ’s emotional interview about childhood abuse. Called him out on his hypocrisy. Trash talk is one thing, but attacking families? That’s crossing a line.
So, what if Garry gets through his hit list? What’s the end game? The UFC welterweight title. He’s got a few scenarios in mind.
“I think this year [UFC welterweight champ] Leon [Edwards] will probably fight twice,” he said. “I don’t believe I’ll get a title shot toward the end of the year. I have work to be done right now. I think there’s guys above me still. I think there’s Belal who should be next, and then there’s someone like Shavkhat knocking at the door. How can they not be the next two contenders that deserve a shot the title?
“So it’s from a point of view of … I do believe I’ll get Colby. If I don’t get a Sean Strickland vibe, I wouldn’t mind taking out Kamaru Usman as well. I wouldn’t mind taking out two of the baddest men on the planet in this division for so long, and then earning my title shot for next year.”