Could MVP vs. Garry become the new co-main at UFC 303?
Ian Machado Garry and Michael ‘Venom’ Page are both looking for opponents to fight this summer, so why not each other?
Garry had hoped to fight Colby Covington in the co-main of UFC 303 (aka the Conor McGregor comeback card). Covington is still recovering from a broken foot, so Ian is now casting a wider net that includes the ‘low-ranked’ “MVP.” And Page has been down to scrap from the beginning.
“That’d be a great match,” Page said in a new interview with Sky Sports. “And I knew the UK card was coming up, so I was like, oh, that’d be a great fight. They said ‘Colby’s already taken that fight, so that’s not really a thing. But we’ll look for somebody else for the same time.’ So in my head I was like yeah, I already knew I was gonna be fighting in Manchester, but I was just waiting for an opponent.”
“Colby’s got some kind of issue. I didn’t actually look into exactly what that was, but he can’t make the fight. They’re like, ‘Would you still wanna take the [Ian Garry fight]?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah. Yeah. Let’s just put it on the UK card because it just makes sense, you know?’ Straight away, accepted.”
But don’t get it twisted, Page is ready for UFC 303 if that’s when the fight has to happen.
“I don’t actually care when the fight is,” he said. “I can do it next week. I can do it the week after. I don’t mind. I’m just saying it made more sense for the UK. He’s Irish. I’m English. On the UK card, it’s gonna be a big card. It’d be a great fight.”
“I think he likes to hang on the back of people’s coattails. So he sees Conor McGregor and gets excited. Whereas, I don’t care. Like, I I don’t care for stuff like being on a Conor McGregor show. There’s loads of eyes and I don’t care when I fight. I like to create my own light.”
So what’s the status on a potential Garry vs. Page fight at UFC 303?
“I’ve accepted the fight, so we’re just waiting,” Page said. “He’s accepted it? He’s accepted it. He says he’s accepted it.”
But has the UFC accepted it?
“I’ve just said I’m happy to fight,” he clarified. “But there’s been no offer.”
Let’s hope the UFC takes Garry and Page up on their offer because UFC 303 is looking light under the main event. With Khalil Rountree out of his co-main against Jamahal Hill, the next biggest fight on the card is … Joe Pyfer vs. Marc-Andre Barriault? Eugh, sad. Get “Future” vs. “Venom” on there now!