Ian Machado Garry, originally set to fight Joaquin Buckley, will now face Shavkat Rakhmonov after Belal Muhammad‘s withdrawal, while backing Buckley to defeat Colby Covington, whom Garry accuses of avoiding a fight with him.
Ian Machado Garry’s got an interesting twist in his fight journey next month. Initially, he was set to clash with Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa on Dec. 14. But then, life threw a curveball! With welterweight champ Belal Muhammad sidelined due to injury, Garry now faces Shavkat Rakhmonov in a five-round co-main event on Dec. 7 in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the UFC shook things up by pairing Buckley against former interim champ Colby Covington for their return to "The Sunshine State."
Garry’s backing Buckley all the way to victory over Covington—hoping for a knockout, no less. On Instagram, he rallied behind Buckley: “Joaquin Buckley: I’m behind you 100 percent of the way,” he cheered. “Go out and put that man to sleep, please and thank you. Do it for me because he’s not able to do it against me.”
Interestingly, after his new booking, Garry claimed both Covington and ex-champ Kamaru Usman turned down fights with him. Bold move or just plain dodging? “The Future” has been calling out Covington for over a year now. With Covington opting to fight Buckley instead, Garry sees this as proof that "Chaos" wanted no part of him.
“This just shows [he’s] been ducking me for seven, eight months,” Garry declared. His words were sharp: “I signed for the baddest man in the division and this guy comes out of the fcking shadows. He’s a pssy. He’s a bitch. And one day, I’ll get my hands on him.”
And there you have it! A wild mix of fight changes, social media shoutouts, and some spicy trash talk—all part of the unpredictable world of MMA!