"Never, ever, ever wanted to fight me" - Ian Machado Garry weighs in on Colby Covington stepping in to face Joaquin Buckley

Ian Machado Garry has been clear about his desire to face Colby Covington after the two publicly exchanged words earlier this year. 'The Future' appeared set to face Joaquin Buckley at UFC on ESPN 63 next weekend in the first main event of his UFC career, however, he will now face Shavkat Rakhmonov in a welterweight title eliminator at UFC 310 this weekend.

The No.7-ranked welterweight recently took aim at 'Chaos' for stepping in to face 'New Mansa' after he was pulled from the bout.

On being asked about Covington at the UFC 310 media day, Garry responded:

"Oh, he just magically f**king re-appeared out of thin air. Just came out of nowhere, didn't he? 'Oh yeah, I'll do it'. It just shows he's a coward. It proves that he never, ever, ever wanted to fight me in the first place. He is the perfect example of someone who is trying to stay relevant by talking about me, Shavkat, he even mentioned Charles [Oliveira] at one point because he was getting all the media attention."

Garry continued:

"He talks out of his a** and he's not willing to back it up. He would never, ever, ever in a million years step into that octagon with me and face his fears because I am the man he fears the most."

Check out Ian Machado Garry's comments on Colby Covington facing Joaquin Buckley below:

Garry and Covington appeared to be on a collision course in the first quarter of the year, however, a bout between the two never materialized. The results of their upcoming matchups will likely determine whether or not they will share the octagon in the future.

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Ian Machado Garry shares he would be open to facing Colby Covington next weekend

Ian Machado Garry will have the biggest test of his mixed martial arts career when he faces Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310 this weekend. He recently revealed that he is open to fighting on back-to-back cards if presented with the opportunity to face Colby Covington.

During a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, the No. 7-ranked welterweight stated:

"I've been screaming and shouting about fighting that man from the rafters. This man's made videos about me, my wife, my kids, talked all this s**t and here's this man avoiding me like the plague... I would love to beat Shavkat and the following week, fight as the main event in Tampa and bury Colby Covington and leave him dead and done in that octagon never to be seen again."

Check out Ian Machado Garry's full comments on Colby Covington below:

If Garry can get past Rakhmonov, he will be next in line to face Belal Muhammad for the welterweight title. It is unlikely that the UFC would risk the title bout by having him fight on consecutive weekends. Furthermore, the promotion would not pull Joaquin Buckley from the card - barring an injury - after already changing his opponent.