Ian Machado Garry remained undefeated when he beat Michael “Venom” Page at UFC 303 in late June, yet despite the win, Machado’s Garry’s stock didn’t gain much value and, despite the loss, Page’s stock didn’t lose much value.
Machado Garry reverted to a conservative, grappling-heavy game plan and eked out a narrow unanimous decision against Page. UFC president Dana White said at the post-fight press conference he was not impressed with the victory and viewed that bout as a draw.
The 26-year-old from Ireland is now 15-0 in mixed martial arts. The UFC’s No. 7-ranked contender at 170 pounds has vowed to not only win a UFC title one day but eventually be regarded as one of the sport’s greatest talents.
When asked Wednesday during an appearance on The MMA Hour whether he thinks Machado Garry has what it takes to one day capture the UFC welterweight title, Page gave a definitive answer.
“Not at all because if that’s the way you’re going to go when you get a decent striker, then (current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards is) gonna kill you and (18-0 Shavkat Rakhmonov is) gonna kill you anyway,” Page said. “There’s a few guys in there I just don’t see him surpassing. Again, he went a bit more tactical (against me) and in some of the areas he didn’t feel massively strong.
“I’m not trying to be disrespectful to him because, again, he’s done his job. He was smart about how he went about it but, for me, this game is about combat. It’s about fighting, not about stealing wins.”
Page began his MMA career 14-0 before sustaining his first defeat — a knockout five years ago at Bellator 221 to Douglas Lima, a loss he later avenged in 2021 — and said he felt it was “freeing” after he no longer had a perfect pro record and that it helped his subsequent in-cage performances.
“I don’t see him progressing to the top,” Page said. “I think he’ll always be around there, top 10, top five, and then keep losing out to certain people, but he is still talented and he’s got loads of time to keep progressing and get better anyway.”
Machado Garry said after UFC 303 he’d be open to fighting Rakhmonov, a fellow undefeated fighter, former champion Kamaru Usman or former interim titleholder Colby Covington in his next bout.
Page (22-3 in MMA, 1-1 in the UFC) added that he’s not dealing with any injuries at the moment but is also planning on taking some time in the gym before accepting his next fight because there are “a few things I want to drill over and over and over.”
The 37-year-old from England defeated Kevin Holland in his UFC debut in February after a 19-fight run with Bellator MMA that spanned 10 years.