Three months ago, before Ian Garry had decided on his next opponent,Zero interest ratesAgainst Michael “Venom” Page.
So what has changed now that Page is firmly in his sights for Saturday’s UFC 303 bout in Las Vegas?
“Nothing. I have no interest whatsoever in going up against MVP,” a cocky Garry told The Post during a recent video call. “I had no interest then and I have no interest now.”
Garry said the main reason the fight happened was the Irish boxer’s strong desire to fight on the same card as his countryman Conor McGregor, an icon for the 26-year-old welterweight boxer who withdrew earlier this month due to a broken toe.
The event at T-Mobile Arena will see McGregor return from a three-year hiatus to face Michael Chandler in the main event, but instead will see light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira defend his title against Jiri Prochazka in a rematch of last November’s showdown at Madison Square Garden.
“It was my dream to be on the same card as him,” he said of McGregor, “and MVP was the only one who said yes. I had a long list of nos so I’m grateful that MVP said yes, but I had no interest in fighting him then and I still have no interest now.”
A more intriguing opponent for Gary, who began his UFC career in style with a first-round knockout win at the Garden in November 2021 and has yet to taste defeat as a pro, is the man who unsuccessfully challenged then-champion Kamaru Usman for the welterweight title on the same night in New York: Colby Covington.
Covington has not had a fight scheduled since a lackluster loss to current 170-pound champion Leon Edwards in December, but he has yet to compete, though he did win the bout earlier this year. A potential willingness to confront Garry.
But the former interim titleholder has since changed his tune, bragging that he is financially stable enough that he doesn’t need to fight again, disparaging Garry’s most recent win (a split decision victory over Geoff Neal in February) and saying he wants to get healthy after saying he broke his leg early in his loss to Edwards.
“I want to fight big,” Covington said.SOSCAST Adam Sosnick“This child is nobody.”
Gary (14-0, eight finishes) told The Post he hadn’t heard of Covington’s recent slurs until he heard the comment, and fired back at the three-time unbeaten title challenger.
“In fact, that’s complete nonsense. [Saying] “‘I’m a nobody’ is an easy way for him to try to get around this,” Gary shot back, mocking Covington’s reasoning. “‘I’m trying to get healthy again. He’s a nobody. I’m not going to fight him.’ Look, he has no other choice right now. He has no other choice. He’s not going to fight anybody better than him.” [in the UFC rankings]and I’m the best[-ranked] Guys he can fight, guys he wants to fight stylistically.
“He’s not going to fight Gilbert Burns, who is a heavy grappler and has great jiu-jitsu skills. He wants a fight style that will benefit his wrestling style. I’m him. He said no. He’s running away. He’s scared. I don’t think there’s ever going to be a scenario where Colby Covington would accept a fight with me again. He had his chance and he ran away. He’s scared because he knows the truth. For him, I’m the end of his career. For him, I’m kryptonite.”
Whether or not Garry is right about a future showdown with Covington, former longtime Bellator fighter Page (22-2, 16 finishes) is a more concrete challenger in his path.
Page won a relatively clean decision over Kevin Holland in his UFC debut in March, showcasing the kickboxing skills that made him a perennial championship contender for his former organization.
That doesn’t mean Gary was impressed. Clearly not.
“Now he comes to UFC, the biggest organization in mixed martial arts, and he’s going to win a world title in this weight class? He couldn’t do it in Bellator and he thinks he can do it here?” Gary says incredulously. “He touch He’s not going to mess with anyone above me in the rankings.
“This is the end of his career,” he said of his 37-year-old rival. “I’m… 11 years younger than him. I’m cuter than him, I’m technically better. I’m going to outdo him in every way and prove that there is a level in this game.”
Garry said there is no gentleman’s agreement to make the fight stand-up, but that he will ensure that at least a portion of the fight remains stand-up, despite feeling he has the clear advantage as the more well-rounded fighter compared to striker Page.
“I have a tremendous ego, and my tremendous ego is going to be used to prove to MVP that I’m better than you, that I’m what you do best, and then we’ll see how he takes it from there,” Gary explains. “And once I show him my skill set and my ability to dominate a fight, I think you’re going to see MVP scrambling, and I think he’s going to be very, very nervous in the Octagon.”
