UFC 303: The Importance Of Ian Machado Garry Vs. Michael ...

2 days ago

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ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 17: Ian Garry of Ireland prepares to face Geoff Neal in a ... [+] welterweight fight during the UFC 298 event at Honda Center on February 17, 2024 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The primary focus of Saturday's UFC 303 fight card will deservedly be the main event scrap between UFC light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira and ex-titleholder Jiri Prochazka. However, the pay-per-view card opening fight between Ian Machado Garry and Michael "Venom" Page is one that the UFC brass will be watching with great interest.

Garry (14-0) is an undefeated fighter from Ireland who does his best to channel the brashness of the man the UFC initially booked to fight at the top of the UFC 303 pay-per-view card, Conor McGregor. His opponent, Page (22-2), has been in the game a long time and is considered to be one of the flashier fighters in MMA.

What makes this welterweight fight meaningful for the UFC is that the winner will undoubtedly get a big push, while the loser could fall by the wayside, at least for a while. Garry enters the contest as the No. 7 fighter in the official UFC welterweight rankings, while Page, better known by his nickname of "MVP," is the No. 14 fighter in the UFC's 170-pound weight class despite having just one UFC bout to his name.

The 26-year-old Garry debuted with the UFC in November 2021. At the time, he was coming off a victory that earned him the Cage Warriors welterweight crown. He won his UFC debut, knocking out Jordan Williams with one second left in the first round of their UFC 268 contest on the early prelims.

After the win, Garry told UFC commentator Joe Rogan, "A wise Irish man once said before me, he stood in this very cage, and he said, 'We're not here to take part, we're here to take over,' and this is the takeover part two."

Since then, Garry has gone 6-0 with two knockouts and five decisions, and he’s shed some of the comparisons to McGregor as he develops his own personality. During his run, he made some fans believe, alienated others, and left others with questions about how he would handle the division's elite. Most importantly, Garry has climbed the welterweight ranks and kept his undefeated record intact.

Page made a name for himself in Bellator, racking up big wins in sometimes spectacular fashion. He showed a knack for self-promotion and an ability to make fighters who weren't on his level look bad. However, his run with that promotion was marked with questions about just how good he would be against the best fighters Bellator had to offer. After all, he lost the two biggest fights of his Bellator run, getting knocked out by Douglas Lima in the welterweight Grand Prix semifinal in 2019 and dropping a split decision to Logan Storley in a 2022 interim title fight.

The UFC tested Page in his promotional debut, matching him up against the always-game Kevin Holland. Page looked good in that fight, frustrating Holland with his odd striking style and picking up a unanimous decision win.

The winner of this fight could find themselves one or two fights away from tangling for UFC welterweight gold. The loser will need to reset and get back to the grind. That won't be a big deal for Garry, who will turn 27 in November, but for the 37-year-old Page, UFC 303 marks a must-win if he hopes to get a shot at the UFC's 170-pound title.

While the UFC is giving this fight a pre-event push, making it part of the UFC Countdown to UFC 303 video package, there is a chance the bout could be boring, something UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards addressed.

"It's interesting all right because I feel like it might be like a little fencing fight where they're both like trying to find range… So don't know whether or not to run a boring fight, so they're both trying to find range, and nobody wants to commit first," Edwards told Red Corner MMA. "Or a nice striking clinic probably… They're both similar, both lengthy strikers, kickboxers kind of style, not very great at grappling… I'm interested to see how they both approach it. I've trained with both of them, I've sparred both of them, so I'm interested to see how it plays out."

There's also a chance for this fight to be the matchup where Garry's propensity to carry his chin up high and sometimes throw reckless punches to end his unbeaten streak. On the flip side, this could be the bout where Page meets his match in speed and judging time, space, and distance.

Garry vs. Page is a difficult fight to call, but it is one that is very important, not just for the men involved but also for the future of the UFC's welterweight division.

UFC 303 takes place on Saturday, June 29, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view card streams on ESPN+ pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.