‘The Biggest Thing Covington Has Done Is Lose To Usman Twice’

Rising Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight star, Ian Machado Garry, doesn’t like Colby Covington’s odds of becoming a world champion.

It’s unknown when reigning 170-pound titleholder, Leon Edwards, will defend his throne next, but the opponent is anticipated to be the one-time interim titlist, Covington. Many fans and fighters — Edwards included — have pushed back on the idea of a “Chaos” title shot since revealed by UFC President, Dana White, after UFC 286 in March 2023. However, should the fight come to fruition as expected, Garry sees “Rocky” having his way with ease.

“I think Leon absolutely smashes him,” Garry said at UFC 292 media day. “Colby gets a lot of hype for nothing. The biggest thing Colby Covington has done is lose to Kamaru Usman twice. Twice. Leon has gone out and beat Usman. Twice. I think Leon is gonna absolutely, surgically, and just … I think he’s gonna dominate him.

“I’ve trained with Leon, I know how good Leon is,” he continued. “Leon’s a phenomenal athlete. He’s amazing in every single aspect of the game. His wrestling, his jiu-jitsu is so underrated because people talk about him as a kickboxer. I guarantee you he absolutely runs through Colby. I guarantee it.”

Despite going 2-2 in his last four fights with his most recent win coming via unanimous decision over Jorge Masvidal in March 2022, Covington remains ranked at No. 2 in the official UFC Welterweight rankings. As for Ireland’s Garry, the undefeated 12-0 25-year-old looks to continue his ascent from his No. 13 spot with a big win over Neil Magny at UFC 292 this weekend (Sat., Aug. 19, 2023).

---

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 292 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET, then the remaining undercard on ESPN2/ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV.

To check out the latest and greatest UFC 292: “Sterling vs. O’Malley” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.