What Happened Between Ian Garry, Layla Machado and Colby Covington? Reason Behind UFC 303 Fight Fallout

Ian Garry has made a name for himself in the UFC with his impressive performances and his ‘beef’ with former interim welterweight champion, Colby ‘Chaos’ Covington! ‘The Future’, as he’s also known, made his UFC debut in 2021 after going undefeated as a professional in the ‘Cage Warriors’ promotion and even holding the ‘Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship’.

Garry has since continued his run with a spot-less record of 14-0 but has been drawn into an ongoing feud with Covington. The two have gone back and forth on social media as Garry’s relationship with his wife, Layla, has also been mocked by Covington in his trademark, unfiltered manner. Let’s take a look at where this ‘beef’ started, how the two were almost linked to a fight at UFC 303, and all the other information we have on this saga between the welterweights.

Ian Garry vs. Colby Covington almost happened at UFC 303

Garry is currently scheduled to face Michael ‘Venom’ Page at UFC 303 on June 29th, however many in the MMA sphere expected Colby Covington to step into the cage against the Irishman. Earlier this year in April, Garry had shared an update on social media where he’d claimed that “…it’s Tuesday the 9th of April at ten past one. I just want to let everyone know I have agreed the fight with Colby Covington. There is a date in place – Colby still hasn’t signed the contract.”

This had come after Garry’s split decision win over Geoff Neal at UFC 298, following which he’d made a call-out of Covington, and ‘Chaos’ had responded with a video of his own where he’d laid down 3 bizarre stipulations for accepting the bout and had taken shots at Garry’s wife, as well. But when the UFC 303 bout between Garry and Page was announced, former ‘champ-champ’ Daniel Cormier slammed Covington for not stepping up to fight the Irish MMA star.

However, ‘Chaos’ then responded on an appearance on the ‘SOSCAST’ where he stated, “Daniel doesn’t know what he’s talking about…The biggest thing is I gotta get healthy… It’s really on my time, and I’ll fight when I’m ready to fight and when I’m healthy. I want big fight, this kid’s (Ian Machado Garry) a nobody.”

Covington had been reported to have suffered from a broken foot in his welterweight title bout against Leon Edwards at UFC 296 in December 2023, as such, his claim about being not healthy enough to return at UFC 303 does hold weight. Nevertheless, with such a heated feud already built up between the two, let’s explore how the animosity between the two began!

How did the beef between Garry and Covington start? Was Layla Machado Garry involved?

Ian Garry had already indicated his intentions to face Colby Covington inside the Octagon after his UFC 292 victory over welterweight veteran, Neil Magny in 2023. At the time Covington was preparing for his UFC 296 title clash against Leon Edwards, but Garry made an appearance on ‘The MMA Hour’ where he revealed ‘Chaos’s name when asked about his ‘dream fight’. Garry stated, “Colby Covington…Oh my god, at home?… Walk into Miami, slap the mouth off of him in front of all his fans.”

However, things escalated when Garry was targeted by the MMA sphere online for his relationship with his wife, Layla, after rumors arose about their personal life and his wife’s book, “How to Be A WAG”. While she later clarified that the work was satire, that was all the ammunition Covington needed to target Garry.

In an interview with Tucker Carlson, ‘Chaos’ stated, “There’s one guy that’s a legitimate c**k and I’ve called him out for that…I said, ‘That’s disgusting, you’re a c**k and your wife is a vile lady.’ She’s selling books promoting being a ‘WAG,’ being a wife and a girlfriend… I think he probably wants to deal with me in the cage. It just so happens that I like to fight in the Octagon, and if the fight were to happen one day, it would be an honor for me to smash it…”

This later led to the contract signing video by Garry and the stipulation-filled response by Covington, which leads us to where we stand now with the question, will this ‘beef’ ever be resolved inside the Octagon? 

Will we see ‘The Future’ vs. ‘Chaos’ in the future?

Despite the back-and-forth, Ian Garry had the perfect opportunity to confront Colby Covington at UFC 303, and in his interview with ‘New York Post Sports’, Garry criticized Covington for avoiding the fight, and suggested, “The truth is that is absolute bollocks. [Saying] I’m a nobody is an easy way for him to try to swerve this… He has no other option. He’s not fighting anyone above him [in the UFC rankings], and I’m the highest[-ranked] guy that he can fight, that he’s going to want to stylistically fight.”

‘The Future’ also revealed his belief that he poses a significant threat to Covington’s career, stating, “I think he’s had his opportunity, he ran, and he’s too scared because he knows the truth: I, to him, am the end of this career. I, to him, am that kryptonite.”

Covington, now 36, faces an uncertain future with multiple losses in title fights, making it challenging to predict his next move. Whether this feud will be resolved in the Octagon remains to be seen, but the tension between Garry and Covington has so far been a captivating story for MMA fans!