“He’s Looking For A Scalp” — Coach Names Perfect Opponent

After seeing Leon Edwards come up short against Belal Muhammad, coach Dave Lovell would like to see his fighter bounce back against rising Irish contender Ian Machado Garry.

Edwards’ uninspiring performance against ‘Remember The Name’ at UFC 304 cost him the win and the welterweight world title. Considering how decisively things played out, ‘Rocky’ and his team recognize that an immediate rematch is a pretty tall ask.

Instead, Edwards’ longtime coach believes the ex-champ can get right back into the mix with a win over the division’s No. 7 ranked contender.

“I’d like to see Leon fight Ian Garry,” Lovell said in an interview with Submission Radio. “Obviously we can keep it British based, either Ireland or over here,” Lovell said. “Obviously the little background story we had going back last year is a — he’s looking for a scalp. Now Leon’s not champion, he may think well, he’s a good scalp for him to get to obviously march on to get a championship belt or title shot.

“For Leon, if Leon beats him, that then puts him at the back of the queue and then maybe if they want one more before he fights Belal, if Belal’s still got the belt, well that’ll be the future move, the future plan” (h/t MMA News).

Now could be the perfect time for Leon Edwards and Ian Machado Garry to settle things inside the octagon

Aside from their status as top 10 contenders, Leon Edwards and Ian Machado Garry have a bit of history with one another.

Last year, ‘The Future’ claimed that he was kicked out of Edwards’ gym, Team Renegade in Birmingham, England, and accused Edwards of feeling insecure by having a potential future title challenger training alongside him. However, Team Renegade quickly disputed Garry’s statement, revealing that the Irish up-and-comer was simply not contributing to the culture of their gym.

That was seemingly corroborated by both Sean Brady and Veronica Hardy who revealed in separate interviews that Garry had been booted from multiple gyms over the years due to poor etiquette.

Adding fuel to the fire was Paddy Pimblett who went on to claim that Edwards had once KO’d Garry during a training session.

Garry seemingly confirmed the rumor in a video on Instagram following a trip to the local hospital:

“Anyone watch the Leon Edwards [vs. Kamaru] Usman fight? Anyone know how that went? One of the best head kicks in the UFC—Yeah, I might have felt what that kick felt like…”