UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards has dismissed the drama surrounding Ian Machado Garry’s exit from his gym, attributing it to a culture clash and Garry’s inability to fit in, while also accusing Garry of blowing the situation out of proportion due to Edwards’ status as champion.
Leon Edwards is puzzled by the fuss over Ian Machado Garry’s expulsion from his gym before UFC 296. Edwards, the current UFC welterweight champion, and the rapidly ascending Irish prospect had a brief training stint together in England. But, it ended up being a case of oil and water.
Machado Garry eventually left, relocating his training camp to Brazil. Edwards and his coaches attributed the split to a culture clash. Machado Garry, however, claimed he felt “insecurities” and “doubts” as a top-level contender in the same division. Edwards disagrees, stating that’s far from the truth.
“I feel like once he came to the gym, he just didn’t fit in,” Edwards shared with MMA Fighting. “This is like the third gym now he’s been kicked out of. It is what it is. He’s just a different kind of guy. He’s hard to blend with. Everywhere he goes there’s a camera there. Everywhere he goes, his wife is there, his kid is there. There’s a lot going on.
“There wasn’t any bad blood. He came out and made it into a big thing and it wasn’t. He’s been kicked out of more gyms than mine. Like why are you making such a big deal out of it?” Edwards questions.
Edwards believes Machado Garry exaggerated the situation because of Edwards’ status as the UFC welterweight champion. So, the story got more attention than it deserved. “Because I’m the champion he wants to ride off the back of my coattails and go back and forth with me on social media,” Edwards said. “It is what it is. You’ve got to focus on yourself.
“If he does get to the title — does he? I don’t know yet. That’s it. Wish him well. We’ll see what happens.”
After the split, fellow UFC 296 fighter Paddy Pimblett claimed that Machado Garry wasn’t yet deserving of being mentioned as a potential title contender. Pimblett even alleged that Edwards had knocked out Machado Garry during their training together.
Edwards agrees with the unwritten rule that what happens in the gym, stays in the gym. Still, he wanted to clarify what happened during those sparring sessions with Machado Garry. “I didn’t knock him out clean, no,” Edwards said. “He got a little taste [of the Kamaru Usman head kick] for sure.”
On the same night where Edwards headlines UFC 296 in a title defense against Colby Covington, Machado Garry will try to add another ranked opponent to his resume. He’s facing another former training partner, Vicente Luque.
With his focus on his own fight, Edwards probably won’t pay much attention to Machado Garry’s performance. However, he believes that, win or lose, Machado Garry is still a long way from challenging for a UFC title. “Skill wise, he’s a long way away from even a thought in my brain for competing for a title,” Edwards said about Machado Garry. “Like I said, I wish him well in his endeavors but I feel like skill wise right now, he’s not a guy I think ‘oh s***, I need to stay away from this guy.’”
As for who might be next for him, Edwards stated that he wasn’t sure anybody had clearly defined themselves as the true No. 1 contender in the division. This might come as a surprise to Belal Muhammad, who was promised a title shot after he defeated Gilbert Burns in May to extend his undefeated streak to 10 in a row overall. The only blemish during that run came in 2021 when Muhammad’s fight with Edwards ended in a no-contest following an accidental eye poke in the second round.
In Edwards’ opinion, he’d like to see Muhammad or anybody else in the division solidify their position as a true No. 1 contender before he defends his title again. “Is he the No. 1 contender? I don’t know,” Edwards said about Muhammad. “Would I fight him again? Absolutely. If he stands out. At the moment, there’s no one clearly stands out. There’s a little [bottle neck] thing going on. Like I said, I’m hoping to see someone stand out after this fight straight away and then we can get it booked and get moving.
“I want to be an active champion. I was fit to fight in September-ish but the UFC had other plans. They already had [Israel Adesanya] booked for already for the pay-per-view and there was other cards booked up already. It was between either New York or this card. Jon Jones ended up on the New York card even though he pulled out and now here we are.”
If the UFC ultimately calls and tells him that Muhammad is next, Edwards promises he has no problem accepting that challenge. “No, 100 percent [I’d fight him],” Edwards said. “That’s easy work. That’s easy money. If he is the guy next, he’s the guy. But does anyone want to see that? Probably not, but if he’s the guy, then I’ll happily silence him.”