It seems there’s no love lost between UFC welterweight contenders Ian Garry and Kamaru Usman.
The former champion and undefeated Irishman were among four names apparently offered the spot opposite Shavkat Rakhmonov at this weekend’s UFC 310 pay-per-view following the withdrawal of Belal Muhammad.
It was ultimately the latter who accepted, swapping his headline spot at next Saturday’s UFC Fight Night in Tampa to co-headline the final numbered event of 2024 in a title eliminator at 170 pounds.
Among others — Colby Covington and Carlos Prates, according to Rakhmonov — Garry has benefited from Usman choosing against sharing the cage with “Nomad” inside T-Mobile Arena this week.
During an appearance on Monday’s episode of The Ariel Helwani Show on Uncrowned, Garry discussed Usman’s rejection of the short-notice assignment against Rakhmonov this weekend, which the Kazakh star says he initially accepted.
The Irishman went as far as to call Usman “weak-minded,” theorizing that he’ll now push for a showdown with Jack Della Maddalena in 2025 given his weakness in the grappling department.
“Usman has a big chest and little balls,” Garry said. “He looks good and plays the part, but when it matters between the legs, he’s a little man. That’s my outlook on it. … Him and Colby are older, been through the division, fought these guys. Now they’re getting to the end of their careers and they want to choose the better stylistic matchups. But I guarantee this: Usman is going to try to push for a fight with Jack Della Maddalena because he’s seen how easily Gilbert Burns was able to take him down.
“If I was in Usman’s shoes, why would I wanna fight the guy that’s long, rangey, difficult to deal with, when I can fight a guy who I watched two people back-to-back be able to take him down quite easily?” Garry continued. “I guarantee you Usman is going to try to push for the JDM fight, because he’s weak-minded.”
Usman has been the subject of similar criticism from some corners of the fanbase, and he took to his Pound 4 Pound podcast alongside Henry Cejudo this week to hit back at those questioning his decision not to fight Rakhmonov on short notice.
