Ian Garry has moved away from a potential fight with Colby Covington and is considering facing Shavkat Rahmonov next.
Garry won a unanimous decision over Michael Page at UFC 303 last weekend. UFC president Dana White disputed the result, saying the bout should have been ruled a draw. Garry believes the scorecards should have been in his favor. During an appearance on “The MMA Hour,” The Future pointed out that while Page had some good moments in the second round, he was clearly winning the first and final rounds.
“I’d rather say I won all three rounds than call it a draw,” Garry said. “That’s the way I look at it. I dominated the first round. There’s no disputing that. I won the third round, obviously… so rounds one and three are mine, obviously. Round two is up for debate. I would lean to MVP as a competitor and as someone who was in the fight. I felt like I could have won the second round, but even I was leaning to MVP in the second round… so I understand why they give him the second round, but there’s no basis for me to sit here and say it’s a f**king draw. I’d rather say I won all three rounds.”
Garry has been slamming Covington ever since “Chaos” taunted the Irishman and his wife, but he changed tack and blasted Rakhmonov after his win over “Venom” at UFC 303. Garry doubled down on his criticism of Rakhmonov, explaining that he’s over Covington.
“I’m done with Colby. I’m done. He’s a thing of the past,” Gary said. “I think he’s scared. He’s a toxic character. I want to focus on someone like Shafqat, someone who shows up and brings a lot to the table.”
Gary has repeatedly accused Covington of avoiding him and claimed he signed his side of an offer from UFC, but White recently denied Gary’s claims, saying Covington never shys away from a fight.
Meanwhile, Rahmonov responded to Garry’s call and offered to remind him of what had happened during the sparring.
Ian seems to have forgotten what happened during training. You can remind him from now on. https://t.co/B4a7GesXp4
— Shavkat “Nomad” Rakhmonov (@Rakhmonov1994)
June 30, 2024
Asked about Rakhmonov’s comments, Gulley recalled a flurry in which the unbeaten Kazakh was left breathless by a body shot despite coach Henri Hooft’s instructions to “hit gently.” Apart from that, Gulley maintains he is faster, more skilled and more talented as a striker than Rakhmonov. While Gulley acknowledges that Rakhmonov had the grappling advantage in their last training session, he points out that the Irishman has made great strides since then in his ground game, noting that he has made great strides since his defeat at the hands of Brazilian shootout boxer Diego Lima.
“Striking-wise, I’m faster than him, more technically, more talented,” Garry said. “Is he a great fighter, is he fearless? Of course. But this fight is stand-up and I definitely have the advantage. Grappling-wise, he had the grappling advantage over me in training. He was a much better grappler. I said yes. I’ve done most of my training in Brazil, concentrating on becoming a much better grappler.”
Rakhmonov has completed all 18 of his fights, including six at UFC, and is on the brink of a title shot.
