Ian Garry thinks it’s time for Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington to move aside and make way for the next generation of welterweights.
This Saturday, ‘The Future’ will step into the main event spotlight for the first time when he meets surging contender Carlos Prates in Kansas City.
It will also be Garry’s first time attempting to bounce back from a loss after coming up short against Shavkat Rakhmonov in December.
Speaking with Shakiel Mahjouri ahead of his return to the Octagon this weekend, Garry shredded both Covington and former welterweight king Kamaru Usman, accusing the pair of rejecting fights with the division’s young guns and doing everything possible to stay relevant, aside from fighting.
“We’re getting out with the old and in with the new,” Garry said. 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, 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 got these young, hungry killers coming up… And you’re just seeing what the welterweight division is turning into in the next decade.”
Covington and Usman are 3-7 in their last 10 fights combined
Garry and Covington went 10 rounds on social media last year, but nothing ever came of it. Instead, ‘Chaos’ went on to fight Joaquin Buckley at UFC Tampa in December and suffered his second straight loss inside the Octagon, moving him to 2-4 in his last six after the fight was halted in the third round via a doctor’s stoppage TKO.
As for Kamaru Usman, the ‘Nigerian Nightmare’ has lost three in a row, with his most recent appearance being a short-notice scrap against Khamzat Chimaev at UFC 294 in October 2023. Usman lost the bout via majority decision.
He has not won a fight since a November 2021 victory against, you guessed it, Colby Covington.
