Ian Machado Garry was taken aback when he heard Michael Page’s prediction for their bout at UFC 303.
It’s a big welterweight matchup taking place on the main card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the winner putting their name on the shortlist for title consideration. While the fighters have discussed wanting the fight to be five rounds instead of three, Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) sees the bout ending early.
“MVP” recently told MMA Junkie that he expects to start the fight off fast by landing well within the first two minutes of the fight, which will lead to an early knockout. While complimentary of Page’s kickboxing style, Garry (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) scoffed at the prediction.
“He thinks it’s going to be a two-minute fight? I bet you he throws three shots in two minutes,” Garry told MMA Junkie. “I bet you he is super cautious and he is super careful because he knows how dangerous I am. I bet you he is going to be sh*tting himself, and he is going to be frozen. He’s going to do his stupid handwork, his footwork, he is going to do that because what he wants is 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 watch how many shots he threw in the first two and a half minutes. I know. Two. He’s going to be very, very similar, and he ain’t going to knock me out. He ain’t going to touch me. He ain’t going to finish me. He is going to be swimming. I am going to absolutely dominate him in every way, shape, and form physically possible.”
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Coming off a split decision win over Geoff Neal in February in which he needed to be patient to avoid his opponent’s power, Garry is confident that the same discipline will pay dividends in the fight against a tricky striker like Page. The two opponents are very different offensively, but Garry is focused on making sure he doesn’t get lulled into playing Page’s games.
“This fight, in my mind, it’s going to be a further distance, and both of us are going to try to meet 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’s going to enter that no man’s land? Who’s going to take the first step? I genuinely don’t see a world where it’s ‘MVP.'”
If successful at UFC 303, Garry doesn’t want to deviate from his plans for a title shot. An impressive win over a fan-favorite fighter like Page could vault him into a title shot, but Garry maintains he wants to stick to his plan and get one more fight while the rest of the division shakes out at the top, as he sees Shavkat Rakhmonov up next for the title.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 303.
