In response to allegations made by Ian Machado Garry regarding his exclusion from Team Renegade, where UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards trains, the gym has issued an official statement. According to Team Renegade, the decision to deny Machado Garry access to the gym was based on the belief that he did not align with the team’s culture.
The controversy began after Machado Garry disclosed to The Independent last week that he had been instructed not to return to Team Renegade, where he had been training alongside Edwards. Machado Garry attributed this decision to doubts and insecurities harbored by the welterweight champion and his coach.
Team Renegade clarified their stance in the statement, saying, “Sometimes the coaches allow fighters to come in from the outside, but this is very much a privilege and not the norm. If the coaches feel it’s not adding to the team’s culture, a fighter is refused entrance. Ian Garry’s more nomadic approach to preparation has given him great results, but it’s not in line with what we are creating at Team Renegade. This has nothing to do with one specific fighter or a specific coach.”
Machado Garry, currently ranked 10th in the welterweight division of the UFC, has a flawless record and is scheduled to face his former teammate, Vicente Luque, at UFC 296 on December 16, which will serve as the undercard for Edwards’s title defense against Colby Covington.
In an interview with The Independent on October 27, Machado Garry shared his side of the story, saying, “Leon Edwards, his head coach asked me not to come back to Renegade; told me I’m not allowed to train there.”
Machado Garry went on to express his respect and appreciation for Tom and Ash, who run Renegade, emphasizing that his issues were not with them. He added, “Leon and his head coach had an issue with me training on the mats and recently have asked me not to train there because, ‘Leon doesn’t want any insecurities or doubts on his own mats, within the gym,’ which I don’t fully understand.”
Machado Garry continued to question the decision, stating, “That makes me think someone is weak-minded and can’t have another contender training on the mat. That’s why gym conflict is annoying. For me, why not have that other elite guy on the mat? Why not train with him? Why not have him push you? Why not learn and grow from each other?”
Expressing his desire to train with the best and his admiration for Renegade as the best gym in the UK, Machado Garry concluded, “Now I’m being stopped from going to a gym because I might potentially fight Leon in 18 months. My attitude is: If that’s the case, why not have this conversation in six months?”
Leon Edwards, the UFC welterweight champion, recently won the title in August 2022 with a stunning head-kick knockout of Kamaru Usman, a fighter who had previously defeated him on points in 2015. Edwards, 32, then successfully defended the title in a trilogy bout against Usman at UFC 286 in March, securing a decision victory in London.
The Independent will provide the full interview with Ian Machado Garry in the coming week for a more in-depth exploration of this matter.
