Ian Machado Garry was surprised to hear Michael Page’s prediction for the fight at UFC 303.
It’s a big welterweight showdown that takes place on the main card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the winner putting their name on the list for a title shot. While the fighters discuss wanting the fight to go five rounds instead of three, Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) sees the fight ending sooner.
“MVP” recently told MMA Junkie that he hopes to start the fight quickly, landing good shots in the first two minutes of the fight, which will lead to an early knockout. While praising Page’s kickboxing style, Garry (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) scoffed at the prediction.
“Does he think it’s going to be a two-minute fight? I bet he throws three strikes in two minutes,” Garry told MMA Junkie. “I bet he’s super cautious and super careful because he knows how dangerous I am. I bet he’ll shit himself and freeze. He’s going to do his stupid handwork, his footwork, he’s going to do it because what he wants are reactions. He wants me to react. He wants me to open up or try to do something.
“I guarantee you – go watch the second fight he had with Douglas Lima and see how many kicks he threw in the first two and a half minutes. I know. Two. He’s going to be very, very similar and he’s not going to knock me out. He won’t touch me. He’s not going to finish me off. He’s going to swim. I will absolutely dominate you in every way and form physically possible.”
Coming off a split decision victory over Geoff Neal in February, in which he had to be patient to avoid his opponent’s power, Garry is confident that the same discipline will pay dividends when fighting a tricky striker like Page. The two opponents are very different offensively, but Garry is focused on making sure he doesn’t get carried away by Page’s games.
“This fight, in my mind, is going to be further away, and we’re both going to try to find ourselves in that distance where he wants me to come in, or I want him to come in, and I think it’s just going to be a game of tug of war,” Garry said. “Who is going to enter this no man’s land? Who will take the first step? I don’t really see a world where it’s ‘MVP’.”
If he is successful at UFC 303, Garry does not want to deviate from his title shot plans. An impressive win over a fan-favorite fighter like Page could propel him into title contention, but Garry maintains he wants to stick to his plan and get one more fight while the rest of the division churns at the top, seeing as Shavkat Rakhmonov is next in the fight for the title.
For more information on the card, visit the MMA Junkie events hub to UFC 303.
