UFC 303: Ian Garry Says Colby Covington "Single-Handedly" Ruined Conor McGregor Card

Ian Machado Garry takes aim at Colby Covington for not accepting a fight against him at UFC 303.

May 13, 2023; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Ian Garry (blue gloves) celebrates after defeating Daniel Rodriguez (not pictured) in a welterweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Spectrum Center. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Ian Machado Garry believes Colby Covington has put a damper on the UFC 303 card.

Garry had been calling for a showdown with "Chaos" at the pay-per-view scheduled for June 29th in Las Vegas. It'll be a huge night for the UFC, as Conor McGregor will be making his return to take on Michael Chandler. Garry was hoping to share the Octagon with Covington in the co-main event.

It looks like that wasn't meant to be.

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Ian Machado Garry Blasts Colby Covington for Not Accepting UFC 303 Fight

During an interview with Offshore Poker Sites, Ian Machado Garry said that not only will Colby Covington not fight him at UFC 303, but he doesn't see them ever going one-on-one.

“In my opinion, Colby has single-handedly ruined the 303 card by not accepting this fight. That’s the perfect co-main event to Conor (McGregor) and (Michael) Chandler, and he’s running, and he’s scared. He doesn’t want anything to do with me because he knows that it’s going to be the biggest pay-per-view of all time, and if he agrees to fight me on that card – it’s also the biggest stage where he will get knocked out, and that is the biggest downfall of his career. He’s running scared.

“I don’t think there’s a world where Colby ever accepts a fight with me. I think he’ll talk about it to stay relevant and to stay on it from a social media point of view – you mention my name on social media you get a lot of likes, a lot of views, and a lot of traction, so Colby will talk about me to stay relevant, but I don’t ever see a world where he’s man enough to stand in the Octagon with me, backing up the s**t talk.”

If Garry were to fight and defeat Covington, it would put him in the top five on the official UFC welterweight rankings. As it stands now, "The Future" is ranked number seven, while "Chaos" holds the number four spot.

Covington is coming off what many call a lackluster performance in his UFC Welterweight Championship fight against Leon Edwards back in late 2023. Garry earned a split decision win over Geoff Neal in February.

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