Colby Covington slams Ian Garry, says fans got robbed at UFC 303

LockerRoom Team

01 Jul 2024

Colby Covington did not hold back his criticism of Ian Machado Garry’s performance at UFC 303. Despite Garry maintaining his undefeated record (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) with a unanimous decision victory over Michael Page (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC), Covington was unimpressed.

Garry leaned heavily on his grappling skills to secure the win in the main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. He threatened Page with a rear-naked choke early and comfortably won the first round. However, Page rallied in the second round, outstriking Garry. The third round was closely contested, with both fighters exchanging control on the ground.

Covington believes Garry’s performance was lackluster and argued that Page should have won the fight. “He’s fighting cans from the Indian casino leagues,” Covington told Submission Radio. “Oh, big, big deal. Anybody could be 15-0 fighting a bunch of bums. Even Dana White himself said what he thought of the performance. He thought it was a draw. He didn’t think there should have been a winner.”

Covington expressed disappointment for the fans, calling the fight “pathetic” and stating that Garry barely scraped by against the No. 14 ranked fighter. “I feel bad for the fans. They got robbed of a pay-per-view opener that’s supposed to be the opener for pay-per-view. That was pathetic. That guy’s fighting the No. 14 guy in the world and barely scraping by. I think he lost the fight. So, I feel bad for the fans. They got robbed. But it just shows how much of a bum he is.”

Garry, 26, accused Covington, 36, of avoiding a fight at UFC 303 after it appeared they were on a collision course. However, UFC CEO Dana White denied any claims that Covington declined the matchup. Covington continues to dismiss Garry’s talent and star power.

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“He was willing to do whatever he could to be on the Conor McGregor card because his name is Conor McGregor,” Covington said. “He’s the Conor McGregor wannabe. He did all this, pulled all these strings to get on the card, and then Conor left him at the altar. I thought it was pretty funny. I thought he was a star? I thought Ian Garry was a big name. What happened?

“They had their [UFC 303] co-main events fall through like six or seven times. There was a guy that was already on the card. Why couldn’t he get bumped up to co-main event? I guess that shows us what UFC thinks about the guy, that the guy’s an absolute nobody. He’s a bum, and he has no reason to talk about anything.”