Colby Covington wasn’t impressed with Ian Machado Garry’s performance at UFC 303.
Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) defeated Michael Page (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) by unanimous decision in Saturday’s main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, leaning on his grappling to get his hand raised and stay undefeated.
Garry was able to threaten “Venom” with a rear-naked choke early and comfortably won Round 1. Page rallied to outstrike Garry in Round 2, but Round 3 was a close, back-and-forth round with both fighters having control time on the ground.
Covington thinks it was a weak showing from Ireland’s Garry, and he is of the belief that MVP should have won.
“He’s fighting cans from the Indian casino leagues,” Covington told Submission Radio. “Oh, big, big deal. Anybody could be 15-0 fighting a bunch of bums. Even Dana White himself said what he thought of the performance. He thought it was a draw. He didn’t think there should have been a winner.
“I feel bad for the fans. The fans got robbed of a pay-per-view opener that’s supposed to be the opener for pay-per-view. That was pathetic. That guy’s fighting the No. 14 guy in the world and barely scraping by. I think he lost the fight. So, I feel bad for the fans. They got robbed. But it just shows how much of a bum he is.”
Dana White reveals his scorecard for Ian Machado Garry vs. MVP at #UFC303. pic.twitter.com/TN1dQXcaam
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) July 1, 2024
Garry, 26, accused Covington, 36, of ducking him at UFC 303 after the pair seemed to be on a collision course. UFC CEO Dana White, however, denied any notions that Covington declined the matchup. Covington continues to be dismissive of Garry and his star power.
“He was willing to do whatever he could to be on the Conor McGregor card because his name is Conor McGregor,” Covington said. “He’s the Conor McGregor wannabe. He did all this, pulled all these strings to get on the card, and then Conor left him at the altar. I thought it was pretty funny. I thought he was a star? I thought Ian Garry was a big name. What happened?
“They had their (UFC 303) co-main events fall through like six or seven times. There was a guy that was already on the card. Why couldn’t he get bumped up to co-main event? I guess that shows us what UFC thinks about the guy, that the guy’s an absolute nobody. He’s a bum, and he has no reason to talk about anything.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
