Ian Machado Garry did not mince words when talking about a particular ex-UFC champion and thinks that not only will he lose his upcoming bout against Carlos Prates but that we won't see that UK combatant again following that November bout. Leon Edwards is the combatant in question and he is the one who will be taking on Prates at Madison Square Garden in the coming months.
These thoughts toward 'Rocky' Edwards were expressed in an interview with Games Hub and in previewing that massive welterweight matchup set for UFC 322, Machado Garry said,
"I feel like Leon Edwards is on his way out and has been on his way out. But I don't think he has a team strong enough or vocal enough to say what needs to be said. I feel like he has a bunch of yes men behind him. Mentally, he's weak. I feel like his love is gone from the game and there wasn't much of a fighter in there in the first place. I think he's gonna get knocked out, put unconscious, and we're never gonna see Leon Edwards again."
Ian Machado Garry eyes middleweight move someday, focuses on 12 month plan for welterweight gold and dominating 170 pounds
While Leon Edwards and Carlos Prates are relevant divisional peers to Ian Machado Garry right now, that won't be the case forever apparently. In discussing his future goals at 185 pounds, Ian Machado Garry stated,
"I absolutely want to move up to Middleweight at some point. I don't believe it'll be anytime soon. I feel like it's been a long time since you've seen anybody dominate a division. Like proper, complete domination. I want to be that guy. I want to dominate 170 first. So I will absolutely, at some point in time, move up to middleweight. And I've been shouting and saying this for so long, I would love to fight Khamzat Chimaev."
When touching on his timeline over the next year as far as his blueprint for domineering over welterweight before pursuing those referenced middleweight aims, Machado Garry quipped,
"Within the next 12 months, I want to guarantee myself as the next in line for the world title. I want to win that world title and I want to prove to myself and to the world that I'm the best welterweight on the planet. And there is going to be no doubt that my name is in that conversation for the greatest fighter of all time."
