‘King Ryan’ is sharing some of his striking tactics with Colby Covington, who’ll need all the help with his stand-up he can get if he wants to stay at the top of the welterweight division.
Colby Covington is getting some striking tips from Ryan Garcia, which he might need if he ends up agreeing to fight Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303.
Ryan Garcia is coming off a impressive majority decision win over Devin Haney that saw him knock Haney down three times. Even more wild than his in-ring performance was the show he put on leading up to the fight. He trolled the world through endless social media posts that he was in the midst of a mental meltdown, to the point where many were conflicted about even watching the fight.
That didn’t stop Garcia from raking in a reported $50 million on the fight — $12 mil of that via bets he made on himself to win. He won’t be able to help Colby Covington hit those heights paycheck-wise, but he did attempt to shore up the wrestling-heavy game of “Chaos” with some tips on striking.
Ryan Garcia showing Colby Covington a thing or two pic.twitter.com/rCSFw6rlvC
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) April 27, 2024
On the same night that he impressed former president Donald Trump with some hand speed drills, he showed Covington how he picked his shots to get around his opponents’ defenses.
“It’s either head or [body], which one do you want?” Garcia said, throwing punches at Covington. “Put your hands up. Now it’s [your temple] if your head is covered.”
Of course, being told to punch your opponent where he’s not defending is one thing, pulling that off in a fight is another. “King Ryan” can do it, but Colby Covington hasn’t proven to have the accuracy or pop to do much more than pad his stats with strikes. That may be why he’s been completely ignoring the latest round of callouts from Ian Garry.
— “The Future” Ian Machado Garry (@iangarryMMA) April 25, 2024
Garry claims the UFC has sent out contracts for a UFC 303 fight, but Covington is turning it down over an injured foot. Is it a ploy to try and get the UFC to sweeten the pot if they want him fighting down? Or is he legitimately ducking “The Future?” Let us know what you think in the comments below.