Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight strikers Ian Garry vs. Michael Page will throw down this weekend (Sat., June 29, 2024) at UFC 303 inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Garry has been on a steady rise through the UFC ranks. The Irish striker’s momentum really picked up in 2023, however, when he beat the breaks off both Daniel Rodriguez and Neil Magny to announce himself a ranked fighter. His decision win over Geoff Neal was a bit more tepid, but he’s still inching closer to the elite ranks. Page, meanwhile, cut his teeth in Bellator for many years, challenging for interim gold in 2022. His crossover into the Octagon was unexpected, but “Venom” made the most of it, styling on Kevin Holland for three rounds and proving himself a top-shelf Welterweight.
Let’s take a closer look at the betting odds and strategic keys for each athlete:
Garry Vs. Page Betting Odds
- Ian Garry victory: -130
- Ian Garry via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
- Ian Garry via submission: TBD
- Ian Garry via decision: TBD
- Michael Page victory: +110
- Michael Page via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
- Michael Page via submission: TBD
- Michael Page via decision: TBD
- Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
How Garry Wins
Garry has proven himself a very technical kickboxer. He has the build to make a movement and distance-based style work well, and thus far, it’s been quite difficult for opponents to consistently get inside, meaning they’re finding little success shooting takedowns or landing in combination.
This match up, however, presents a different question. Page isn’t going to try to close the distance on Garry. He’s happy to fight at range — that’s what he’s been doing his entire life in various martial arts! In fact, it might be necessary for Garry to push forward a bit, which is relatively unusual.
Fights between counter punchers like this can often be a bit boring, but close and slow fights emphasize the little details. In this match, Garry wins by remaining active with his kicks, particularly any time Page is near the fence. It may also be worth mixing a takedown attempt or two into his game, as strikers have outwrestled Page in the past. Really though, Garry has to remain patient and within himself, build combinations when possible, and hit the targets that are available.
How Page Wins
Page is one of the flashiest strikers in the game, but there’s a serious method to his approach. He’s all about angles and deception, walking his opponent into huge shots or blitzing them before they realize what has happened.
Above, I mentioned this fight may be a bit boring, and Page should be perfectly fine with that. It’s probably in his best interest to be very selective about when he engages. Because of his ability to close forward so suddenly — certainly faster than Garry — he has the option to avoid trading unless it’s on his terms.
That mentality can result in staring matches, but if Page is winning with occasional blitzes, that’s not his problem. Patience can go a long way here, as occasional sticks will force Garry’s hand: lose a dull decision or take chances. If and when Garry bites down on his mouth piece and gets aggressive, few are better at creating massive collisions than “MVP.”
Garry Vs. Page Prediction
Overall, Garry is the better fighter. If you match both men against every fighter in the Welterweight Top 15, I’d expect “The Future” to win more of those bouts than his opponent, who has a very specific style and clear-cut weaknesses. Unfortunately for Garry, he falls directly into the style that Page enjoys and doesn’t seem to have the game to disrupt him. Like Holland before him, he’s going to be forced to fight Page on his terms, and that’s a tremendously difficult ask for the young talent.
If Garry can win impressively, consider me convinced on his championship potential. More likely, he takes a learning lesson and still needs time to develop before being able to topple a specialist like Page.
Prediction: Page victory (+110)
Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 303 fight card right here, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (simulcast on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET), before the pay-per-view (PPV) main card start time at 10 p.m. ET (also on ESPN+).
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