Colby Covington says ship sailed on Ian Machado Garry fight, wants Belal Muhammad or Charles Oliveira instead

Colby Covington has moved on from Ian Machado Garry.

The three-time UFC title challenger told Submission Radio on Monday that the ship has sailed on a long-discussed bout against Garry, despite the ongoing back and forth between the two welterweights. Garry previously announced in April that he agreed to a date to fight Covington and demanded that the American sign the contract, however Covington denied that claim in early May. Now, Covington said, he’s setting his sights elsewhere.

“He’s going to have to learn the basic principle of life — you’re going to have to learn things the hard way,” Covington said. “So I don’t know, I don’t know if that ship will come back around. I said what I needed to say about him. I said the truth and nothing but the truth.

“He coming off a split decision against a busboy [Geoff Neal]. The kid’s serving Bloomin’ Onions over at Outback Steakhouse. He’s not even a full-time fighter. You’re coming off a split decision over that guy and you’re trying to act like you call the shots and I’ll do as I’m told? No kid, you’ll do as you’re told, and you’ll go sit there in a corner because you’re Corner McGregor.”

“No one cares about the kid,” Covington added. “He’s irrelevant. He doesn’t have any high-profile wins. He does nothing for my career. Why would I fight a guy like this? If I go out there and beat this guy, everybody’s just going to be like, ‘Oh, he’s a freaking nobody. There’s local jobbers on the independent circuit that are undefeated, so big deal, you took his 0. He hasn’t beaten anybody, he’s a nobody.’ So the fight does nothing for my career.”

Covington, 36, has been out of action since losing a lopsided title challenge against UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards in December. The setback marked the third time Covington failed to capitalize on a shot at the undisputed UFC belt. In total, Covington has won just two of his past five bouts since late 2019, and fought just once a year since 2020. He does not own a win over anyone currently ranked in UFC’s official welterweight rankings.

Despite that, Covington instead issued a challenge to former UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira. “Do Bronx” publicly floated the idea of moving up to welterweight after his UFC 300 loss to Arman Tsarukyan and Covington called for a chance to welcome the Brazilian to the 170-pound division. Covington also targeted the current No. 1 welterweight contender and the man expected to next challenge Edwards for the belt, Belal Muhammad.

“I would like Belal. He’s talked a lot of smack,” Covington said.

“Now he’s squatting on his ranking. He should have to come out and fight. I think we should fight. I think that’s the fight that should be next. He doesn’t deserve a title fight. How long has he sat out? He’s sat out for over a year.”

Notably, Covington sat out 21 months between his March 2022 victory over Jorge Masvidal and his recent title loss to Edwards.

For now, Covington said he is still working his way back to full strength after injuring his foot in the Edwards bout. He said he’s expecting to be fully cleared to return to training within four to six weeks and is targeting sometime in the autumn of 2024 for his UFC comeback.

“It’s been a little bit slower process than I initially intended or thought that it was going to be,” Covington said. “It was broken three different places in the medial cuneiform bone, which is a mid-foot fracture, so it’s been a slow process.

“Now the big thing is getting the strength back in my left leg, because I was in a walking boot for 12 to 14 weeks, so now there is a lot of atrophy on that side, so I need to build back the strength in my calf, in my ankle, and the bone is still healing. You can tell it’s at the end of the healing process, but now it’s about strengthening, getting the balance back, getting the strength in my leg so I can really plant and not be compromised in my next fight. In my next fight, I have to be 100 percent. That’s so important to me for my legacy and my career.”