Ian Machado Garry has long wanted to compete on a card with fellow Irishman Conor McGregor, and now he’s gotten his wish against a worthy opponent.
Friday, UFC CEO announced that Garry will meet Michael’s page in a welterweight showdown at UFC 303, the pay-per-view headlined by McGregor’s highly anticipated return to the cage against Michael Chandler. The event takes place on June 29th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Page wasn’t Garry’s first choice, as he has been criticizing Colby Covington for weeks and previously said he had signed a contract to fight the former interim UFC champion. However, Covington, who spoke highly of Garry and his wife, claimed otherwise, and the fight collapsed.
Now Garry (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) will face Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a former Bellator title challenger who is coming off his UFC debut victory against Kevin Holland at UFC 300 , which placed him 13th in the official UFC welterweight rankings. Page, 37, has won eight of nine fights overall, including back-to-back victories. He recently said he would fight Garry.
“I never actually met him,” Page said. “I never like to judge too much from a distance, but he inspires me to get in shape because he looks boring. If there was any motivation needed, it was just him talking.”
Garry, 26, is still undefeated at 14-0 overall with seven UFC wins against notable names like Daniel Rodriguez, Neil Magny and Geoff Neal. His most recent victory against Neil at UFC 298 came via split decision in a technical display that earned boos from fans in Anaheim, California.
Below is the updated UFC 303 lineup:
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Conor McGregor vs Michael Chandler
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Jamahal Hill x Carlos Ulberg
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Ian Machado Garry x Michael Page
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Mayra Bueno Silva x Macy Chiasson
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Andre Fili x Cub Swanson
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Marc-Andre Barriault x Joe Pyfer
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Gillian Robertson x Michelle Waterson-Gomez
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Carlos Hernandez x Rei Tsuruya
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Yanis Ghemmouri x Payton Talbott
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Andrei Arlovski x Martin Buday
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Charles Jourdain x Jean Silva
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 303.
