Ahead of his return at UFC Kansas City this weekend, Ian Garry has hit out at Colby Covington and staked his claim as a better fighter than current champion, Belal Muhammad.
Garry is set to headline for the first time during his brief Octagon tenure this weekend. Tasked with handing the undefeated UFC prospect, Carlos Prates, his first promotional loss, Garry will hope to return to his winning ways once again.
Most recently co-headlining UFC 310 back in December, the Irish striker came unstuck in a title eliminator with the undefeated Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Remaining at number seven at the welterweight limit, Garry also voiced his disgust at not being considered for a title fight on short notice at UFC 315. Although he holds no grudges against title challenger Jack Della Maddalena, Garry believes he was the best suited to put an end to Belal’s year-long reign.
Urged by TNT Sports to blindly rank five welterweight fighters, Garry boldly placed himself atop the list, ahead of the current champion, Muhammad, whom he reduced to number two in the pile.
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And furthermore, there was still time for the Portmarnock striker to poke fun at long-time rival, Covington. Claiming the ex-interim champion doesn’t even fight anymore, Garry said, “He shouldn’t really be in the system anymore. The guy doesn’t fight. He’s done.”
The Irish striker then suggested removing him from the list altogether and putting someone else in there.
Originally, claiming former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman as a suitable replacement at five, Garry then changed his mind and asserted Joaquin Buckley deserved it more, on account of being an active fighter.
But while Garry remains confident about his own supremacy, the welterweight champion has claimed his fate would be no different to anybody else who stepped into the octagon with him.
Belal vows to ‘break down’ Garry in future fight
Preoccupied by a title fight with Della Maddalena next month in ‘The Great White North’, Muhammad has explained why he never considered Garry for a shot at his throne.
Pointing to his decision loss to would-be foe, Rakhmonov, Muhammad admitted that the fact that Garry was no longer unbeaten played somewhat into the failed pairing.
Nevertheless, the Illinois native remains confident of outworking the brash challenger if they ever meet.
“Honestly, for me, when I look at all these guys, I don’t think there’s anybody in the division that could compete with me anywhere,” Belal told Submission Radio.
“When I look at myself, we systematically break all these guys down,” he continued. “We take them to places where they’re uncomfortable. So, if it is Ian (Garry), we would do the same exact thing to him. We would break him down“, he noted confidently.
Garry might not have been able to prove Belal wrong this time around, but as a top competitor in the division, the Irishman is expected to fight for the title soon.
But first, his hands are more than full with Contender Series product, Prates, this weekend. Vowing to break down the Brazilian, too, Garry has boldly claimed he believes the finishing ace is far from a fighter, especially if and when the going gets tough.
