Ian Machado Garry took no prisoners at his UFC 298 media day interview, blasting both Sean Strickland and Colby Covington for past comments.
The undefeated 13-0 welterweight is currently ranked #10 in the world and faces the #8 ranked Geoff ‘Handz of Steel’ Neal this weekend on the main card of UFC 298.
Yet the young Irishman was in his typical brash form as he faced the media this week, calling out both former middleweight champion Sean Strickland and ex-interim welterweight champ Colby Covington.
Ian Machado Garry blasts Strickland and Covington, calls for future fights
The back-and-forth between Sean Strickland and Ian Machado Garry in late 2023 left a sour taste in the mouths of many UFC pundits and fans, but the 26-year-old Irishman says ‘one day’ he’ll get his own back.
“I’ll get mine back. I’ll thump the mouth off Sean Strickland one day, and there will be nothing he can do about it. I’ll talk to him, I’ll dance in his face, I’ll do whatever I want, because the truth is when we get locked into that cage one day, he’s never going to be able to deal with me.”
Garry, who is coming off a KO win over Daniel Rodriguez and a unanimous decision over Neil Magny, even went as far as to claim that Strickland will never be relevant in the UFC again after losing his belt to Du Plessis earlier this year.
“He’s lost the belt. He’s lost the interest. There’s a point at which I’ll jump in on a short-notice fight, and I’ll dance all over him. I’m far too quick. I’m far too talented, and he’ll just be missing.”
Whilst Garry stands at 6’3” and is often much larger than his opponents come fight night, a potential fight against Sean Strickland would likely require him to move up to middleweight.
Luckily, the undefeated prospect has his eyes set on a fellow welterweight too, should he defeat Geoff Neal this weekend at UFC 298: Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington.
“I want to beat Geoff Neal in spectacular fashion this weekend, then I’m going to fight Colby Covington, and I’m going to retire him, and I’m going to rid the clown from the UFC.”
“I think [Colby] has no other choice. When I beat Geoff Neal on Saturday, there’s only one choice, and it’s what I say,” he confidently exclaimed.
Between Strickland and Covington’s on-the-mic antics, Garry says that we are living through a “very dark age in MMA”, adding “This is not what the sport’s about.”
Ian Machado Garry faces Geoff Neal this weekend at UFC 298 from Anaheim, California.