Ian Machado Garry rules out Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington as top UFC welterweights.
Machado Garry (15-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) takes on streaking contender Carlos Prates (21-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 66 (ESPN2, ESPN+) main event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The brash Irishman sees a new crop of welterweight talent, and thinks the likes of former UFC champion Kamaru Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) and ex-interim champ Colby Covington (17-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC) are no longer in the picture anymore.
“We’re getting out with the old and in with the new,” Garry told CBS Sports. “We’re getting rid of these people that are just trying to stay relevant like Kamaru and Colby, just trying to maintain relevancy by just talking on podcasts and trying to slag off Paddy Pimblett. That’s all they are now. They don’t want to fight. They’re not fighters anymore, they’re done.
“You’ve got people like Leon (Edwards), and I f*cking hate to say this but Gilbert (Burns), who just haven’t had the best run lately, and you’ve got these young, hungry killers coming up. The likes of me, Prates, (Michael) Morales, Sean Brady, Shavkat (Rakhmonov), Jack (Della Maddalena), and you’re just seeing what the welterweight division is turning into for the next decade because these guys, they’re going to be around for a long time. They’re all talented everywhere.”
After defending his UFC welterweight title five times, Usman has lost three straight to Leon Edwards twice, and most recently Khamzat Chimaev on short notice at UFC 294. Meanwhile, Covington has lost three of his past four, and is coming off a TKO stoppage to Joaquin Buckley in the UFC on ESPN 63 headliner this past December.
