- Ian Garry talked about the reason why he was kicked out of Team Renegade gym
- “The Future” claims Leon Edwards and his coach see him as a threat
Ian Garry has opened up about the rift between him and Leon Edwards that stemmed from him being booted out of Team Renegade gym.
Ian’s side of the story
Speaking to The MMA Hour, “The Future” addressed the issue about him getting kicked out of Team Renegade gym once and for all. According to Garry, it was Edwards and his coach Dave Lovell who spearheaded the decision to have him banned in the gym simply because he had been viewed as a potential threat to the welterweight champ.
“I have a very good connection with that gym. I went up one day and I was politely asked to not return… I had booked sessions in… I went to Renegade to talk to Leon and I was stopped by Ash, one of the owners of the gym, and Leon’s head coach [Lovell]. We sat outside and we had a conversation about it. Now, what I took away from that conversation was, and I’ve repeated this very, very clearly, that Leon and his head coach didn’t want me training on the mats with Leon; didn’t want Leon having any doubts or insecurities about the team or about the mats because there is a threat on the mats,” Garry began.
“If you’re Leon’s head coach and you say that to me in person, you give me a genuine reason, you’re not gonna turn around to Leon as Dave is not gonna turn around to Leon and go ‘I told him you are a threat but he was a threat to you by the way and I didn’t want him on the mat cause I didn’t want you to get anxious and insecure’… No good head coach would say that to his fighter,” he continued.
“That upset me because I thought I had a little friendship with the people up there to a certain extent,” he added. “… There’s a separate striking coach, Leon’s striking coach Henry Clemson, who I was very fond of and I like to work with… If it was to do with Renegade, then why couldn’t I train with him? Because Leon and his head coach didn’t want me training with anybody Leon trains with because of the doubts and insecurities.”
Leon suggests a different thing
Prior to Garry’s statement, Edwards had already given his take on the matter. As per the reigning welterweight champ, Garry just wants to be linked to his name for relevance. As for why he was kicked out of Renegade, Edwards suggested that the problem was “The Future” because he has already been booted out from several gyms in the past.
It’s hard to tell who is right and wrong between Garry and Edwards. However, “The Future” indeed, could be one of Edwards’ potential rivals and it may only be a matter of time before it happens.
Both “Rocky” and Garry have been successful as fighters. Edwards had just defended his welterweight title against Colby Covington at UFC 296, while “The Future” has been undefeated in his six fights under the UFC banner. He is set to face Geoff Neal at UFC 298.
Check out Garry’s full interview below:
