Kamaru Usman didn’t take kindly to Ian Machado Garry claiming that he ran from a potential fight against him before ultimately booking a showdown against Shavkat Rakhmonov at UFC 310.
In the days leading up to his fight, Garry said Usman “has a big chest and little balls” while alleging that the UFC told him “Kamaru Usman wants nothing to do with you” after attempting to book a fight between them. Following Garry’s loss to Rakhmonov this past Saturday night, Usman was asked about potentially facing the outspoken Irishman in his next fight, which earned a heated reaction from the former UFC welterweight champion.
“Does he even deserve that?” Usman said on his Pound-for-Pound podcast. “This is what I’m going to say is leading up to this fight there was a lot being said, he made a lot of things ‘everyone’s running from me!’ I don’t run from anybody. No one. I run from no one.
“I don’t know too many guys who are going to run from anyone because this is the game. We fight to make money. If we don’t fight, we don’t get paid. Anyone in the UFC has to step in there in order to get paid. The notion of ‘they were scared of me, they were running.’ Who are you? Who are you that I of all people are scared of you. Who are you?”
Usman hasn’t fought since taking Khamzat Chimaev to a close decision in a short-notice fight at middleweight back in October 2023.
While he acknowledged that the UFC reached out about potentially facing Rakhmonov after reigning welterweight champion Belal Muhammad suffered an injury, Usman said he just wasn’t healthy enough to compete yet.
After Garry ended up getting the fight, he took aim at many of the top welterweights in the division for reportedly avoiding Rakhmonov and not accepting the opportunities presented to them.
In response, Usman promises that once he’s ready to compete, he’ll gladly accept any fight the UFC offers him but he’s certainly not losing any sleep over Garry’s jabs at him.
“I guess he was upset because he wanted me to be his late notice replacement for his fight. Who the f*ck is that guy for me to be a late replacement for?” Usman said. “What? No.
“Like I said, the biggest thing for me I just need to get healthy. It doesn’t matter who it is. Once I’m healthy and I feel that I’m healthy to get back in there and do what I do, I don’t care. You could bring King Kong and King Kong’s brothers, if they can make 170, we get it on. So it is what it is.”
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