UFC News: Michael ‘Venom’ Page Doubts Ian Machado Garry Ever Becomes Champion

MVP doesn't see Garry getting past "decent" strikers like Leon Edwards & Shavkat Rakhmonov.

Christopher De Santiago | Jul 10, 2024

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Michael 'Venom' Page doesn't think his former foe Ian Machado Garry has championship potential.

UFC 303 Aftermath: Michael ‘Venom’ Page Reflects on First UFC Loss to Ian Garry

After a brief war of words, the two welterweights settled their differences on the main card of UFC 303 with Garry scraping by with a unanimous decision victory. It was a close contest but Garry's grappling ultimately outweighed the success that striking specialist MVP had on the feet.

Garry, ranked #7 in the UFC Welterweight division, isn't too far from potentially challenging for the title, talking a big game, calling out top contenders like Kamaru Usman and Shavkat Rakhmonov to help get him there.

MVP Brutally Honest On Garry's Chances Of Becoming Champ

Only one Irishman has been able to capture a UFC Championship so far and that's "The Notorious" Conor McGregor. It's safe to say Page thinks it'll stay that way for a while after going three rounds with Garry.

"Not at all, no," MVP said on 'The MMA Hour', when asked if he thinks Garry will become a UFC Champion someday. "Cause if that's the game you're gonna go, when you get a decent striker, then Leon's gonna kill you anyway. Then, Shavkat's gonna kill you anyway. There's a few guys in there that I just don't see him surpassing."

Leon Edwards is the current UFC Welterweight Champion and arguably the division's best striker. "Rocky" showed massive improvements in his game in his last two fights, fending off the vast majority of takedown attempts from both Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington, leaving some room for concern for "The Future".

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What Garry Had Envisioned Happening In Vegas

Garry's game-plan consisted of him not playing too much into MVP's game, clinching and taking him down when he could. However, Garry touted something completely different before the fight he'd "show up and strike" with Page.

“MVP is either going to completely separate the distance, dance for 15 minutes, scrape to land a couple jabs, and try to win by decision or he’s going to try to prove he’s the better striker," Garry said. "I don’t know if he’ll want to do that against someone who is younger, faster, and more technically sound."

Ian Machado Garry vs. Michael 'Venom' Page at UFC 303.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

MVP Gives Machado Garry Some Props

While his decisive performance didn't live up to the hype, Garry still got his hand raised and MVP can't blame him too much, saying:

"He went a bit more tactical," MVP on how Garry fought him at UFC 303. "And again, even at some of the areas, he didn't feel massively strong. Not even trying to be disrespectful to him, 'cause again, he done his job. He was smart about how he kind of went by it. But like, for me, regardless, this game for me is about combat. It's about fighting, not about stealing wins."

Do you agree with Michael 'Venom' Page or will Ian Machado Garry prove him wrong, with a UFC belt wrapped around his waist at some point?

MVP Brutally Honest On Garry's Chances Of Becoming Champ

What Garry Had Envisioned Happening In Vegas

MVP Gives Machado Garry Some Props

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