Colby Covington wasn’t impressed with Ian Machado Garry’s latest victory.

UFC 303 was a big night for several fighters looking to make statements during International Fight Week, including Ireland’s rising undefeated welterweight contender. In a closely contested affair, “The Future” Garry was tasked with veteran striking sensation and recent newcomer Michael “Venom” Page. Tied up going into round three, Garry ultimately pulled off the unanimous decision win with his late back take to secure the round.

Garry, 26, had been jockeying for a potential showdown with Covington at this past Saturday’s event over Page. Unfortunately for him, the showdown with the one-time interim welterweight champion never came to fruition for one reason or another. Covington made his counter offers and bantered with Garry in recent months but according to UFC CEO Dana White never turned down the matchup as claimed by Garry. In the end, “Chaos” thought Page should have handed Garry his first career loss.

“Fighting cans from the Indian casino leagues. Big, big deal, you know,” Covington told Submission Radio. “Anybody can be 15-0 fighting 15 bums. Even Dana White said what he thought of the performance. He thought it was a draw. He didn’t think there should have been a winner. I feel bad for the fans. The fans got robbed of a pay-per-view opener. That’s supposed to be the opener of the pay-per-view so that was pathetic. That guy’s fighting the No. 14 guy in the world and he barely scrapes by. I think he lost the fight. It just shows how much of a bum he is.

“I thought he was a star. I thought Ian Garry was a big name. What happened? They had their co-main events fall through like six or seven times, there was a guy that was there not even on the card. Why couldn’t he get bumped up to co-main event? I guess that shows us what UFC thinks of the guy. The guy’s an absolute nobody and he’s a bum and he has no reason to talk about anything.”

Seemingly winding down in terms of activity, the 36-year-old Covington has fought once since March 2022, coming when he lost a unanimous decision to welterweight champion Leon Edwards this past December. The bout was Covington’s third shot at undisputed gold and made his 2-3 in his last five since 2019 (17-4 overall). He’s since been healing from a claimed broken foot.

The ship may have sailed on a Garry encounter for Covington, and despite his interest in a Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson fight, a former champion has now caught his attention. However, that fighter is a one-time lightweight king, as Charles Oliveira recently expressed interest in taking notable fights at 170 pounds. That’s where Covington believes he can perfectly come into play.

“Charles Oliveira, I’m the biggest fight you will get,” Covington said. “Former world champion, the king of Brazil, king of Miami, Donald Trump’s favorite fighter, what’s gonna be bigger for your legacy than coming to fight me? America’s champion, Donald Trump’s favorite fighter. You want the biggest fight, the ball is in your court, Charles. Let’s see if you’re a man of your word. You talked a big game and said you want to come up to 170. There’s nothing left for you at 155. All these other guys they’re trying to match you up with are complete nobodies. The biggest and best fight for Charles Oliveira’s legacy would be Colby Covington. So, let’s see if he’s about that life, but I don’t think he is. I think he’s gonna run away because he knows what would happen.”

Oliveira last fought at UFC 300 when he lost a close split decision to Arman Tsarukyan in April.

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TOP STORIES

Options. Alex Pereira breaks down UFC 303 knockout; responds to Magomed Ankalaev, Jamahal Hill callouts

Size. Dana White explains why he’s hesitant to let Alex Pereira move to heavyweight

Dreams. Michael Chandler guarantees ‘no way’ Conor McGregor returns without fighting him

Praise. Teddy Atlas compares Alex Pereira to boxing greats Joe Louis and Mike Tyson after latest win

Speed. Payton Talbott disappointed UFC 303 19-second knockout came so quickly

Opportunity. Full lineup announced for Dana White’s Contender Series Season 8 premiere on Aug. 13

$$$. UFC 303 bonuses: Alex Pereira’s spectacular knockout among 6 bonus winners

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LET’S WATCH

UFC 303 Post Show.

On To the Next One.

UFC 303 Post-Fight Scrums (Plus Chandler).

Muted.

One last time.

Sphere hype.

Full fight.

Doctor breakdown.

From RIZIN to UFC.

PFL Sioux Falls highlights.

Conor in Dublin.

Majima en route to Super RIZIN 3.

DEEP 120 Impact Trailer.

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MORNING MUSIC

Go to Twitter, use the #MorningReport hashtag, or find one of my tweets with it, and drop me a jam you’re currently really into. I’ll pick the best one alongside my daily choice and give you a shoutout! You can also share in the comments below — those are just harder to sift through sometimes!

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SOCIAL SCROLL DOWN

Fabulous.

Can’t say I’m surprised.

Bro.

Strike a pose.

Lighter weight pioneer.

BMF seal of approval.

There it is.

Careful what you wish for.

Evolution or bust...

Pitbull.

Toe seems fine.

Art.

Salty.

Absurd.

Scenes.

Diamond fam.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Jennifer Maia (21-10-1) vs. Mayra Cantuária (10-5-1); Invicta FC 56, Aug. 9

Valesca Machado (13-4) vs. Yulia Ostroverkhova (9-2); Invicta FC 56, Aug. 9

Kai Kara-France (24-11) vs. Steve Erceg (12-2); UFC 305, Aug. 17

Junior Tafa (5-2) vs. Valter Walker (11-1); UFC 305, Aug. 17

Jack Jenkins (12-3) vs. Gavin Tucker (13-3); UFC 305, Aug. 17

Josh Culibao (11-3-1) vs. Ricardo Ramos (16-6); UFC 305, Aug. 17

Edmen Shahbazyan (13-4) vs. Gerald Meerschaert (36-17); UFC Vegas 96, Aug. 24

Matt Schnell (16-8) vs. Alessandro Costa (14-4); UFC Vegas 97, Sept. 7

Benoit Saint-Denis (13-2) vs Renato Moicano (19-5-1); UFC Paris, Sept. 28

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FINAL THOUGHTS

This is some tired stuff, man. Tired, tired, tired. I don’t even have much of a thought on Colby anymore.

How incredible is it to see PFL shamelessly make a 10-minute feature video of an inactive fighter from another promotion for 10K views though? Also, do yourself a favor and watch Michelle Waterson vs. Jessica Penne if you have never seen that all-time classic.

Thanks for reading!

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POLL POSITION

Last Week’s Results:

Friday: 32% of 333 total votes answered “Top 10” when asked, “Where does a win over Israel Adesanya put Dricus du Plessis in the middleweight GOAT conversation?”

Thursday: 72% of 380 total votes answered “Yes” when asked, “Does Tom Aspinall have GOAT heavyweight potential?”

Wednesday: 40% of 418 total votes answered “Alex Pereira and Diego Lopes” when asked, “Who wins this weekend?” Pereira defeated Jiri Prochazka via second-round knockout at 0:13 in UFC 303’s main event. Lopes defeated Dan Ige (originally Brian Ortega) via unanimous decision (29-28 All) in UFC 303’s co-main event.

Tuesday: 45% of 519 total votes answered “No” when asked, “Is Jorge Masvidal a bigger fight for Conor McGregor than Michael Chandler?”

Monday: 52% of 427 total votes answered “No” when asked, “Will Robert Whittaker ever reclaim the UFC middleweight title?”

Today’s exit poll:

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