Undefeated brash Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight striker, Ian Garry, wanted so bad to co-headline UFC 303’s pay-per-view (PPV) event inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, opposite fellow countryman, Conor McGregor.
He did everything possible to bully Colby Covington into an “anything goes” 170-pound grudge match. McGregor got hurt, Covington didn’t take the bait and now Garry is opening the tattered PPV main card opposite former Bellator MMA “can crusher,” Michael Page.
Welp.
Nevertheless, Garry looked to continue his roll to a Welterweight title shot in “Sin City,” after beating the breaks off both Daniel Rodriguez and Neil Magny to announce himself a ranked fighter. Page, meanwhile — who as mentioned cut his teeth in Bellator for many years — has so far made the most of his crossover to UFC.
Something had to give, though, when the talented strikers — both at very different moments in their respective careers — got locked inside a cage together. And after 15 minutes on back-and-forth action, it was Garry’s grappling that carried him to a decision victory.
Garry, unsurprisingly, was all smiles prior to getting cracking, while Page danced out right in the center of the cage ready to rock. Page’s bouncing, karate style seemed to flummox Garry early, but the Irishman was able to perfectly time a side kick, catch Page’s leg and mush him to the canvas. Page worked well getting back to his feet with Garry draped along his side, looking to get to his back. He was eventually able to get there after about three minutes of work. Page tried to punch him from behind and they rolled, but the choke was slid-in even deeper during the scramble. Garry had the choke in super tight — bone dry with a full body lock — as Page peeled his hands off the choke … it was incredible submission defense. He eventually was able to slide below the body triangle and away from danger, but it was a clear round for Garry who somehow couldn’t seal the deal within five minutes.
Page was undeterred to start the second stanza, cracking Garry with a hard shot almost immediately. Page, switching stances from side-to-side, whiffed on a monster haymaker as Garry once again tried to solve the striking enigma just in front of him. Garry finally closed the distance with two minutes off the clock, implementing a body lock along the fence to try and get things horizontal once again. Page remained upright this time, but it was not fun to watch — the fans voiced their collective displeasure. He dropped for an ankle lock with 90 seconds on the clock, then switched to a kneebar moments later, but neither materialized. Page landed a solid combination on the restart, one that seemed to sting “The Future.” Huge flying knee attempt from Page, then a lightning-fast jab to the face — Page was clearly the more effective striker.
Heading into the third and final frame, it appeared as if the fight was even on the judges scorecards. Garry tried to lead with some sort of knee attack, but Page blunted it with a short, hard shot. Garry finally start to attack the legs, but when he tried to close distance once again, Page stuffed him and pushed him to his back. He was actually in full-mount for a second, but Garry was able to get him in a body triangle from guard, where he was able to land some nice elbows from bottom position. Garry was eventually able to sneak out and backpack Page with about 90 seconds on the clock. And that’s where he remained until the final bell. It was an incredibly difficult round to score, with Page having success early and Garry having the dominant position late.
In the end, the judges sided unanimously with Garry; however, it was much closer than that for “The Future.” While Page is clearly no pushover — and certainly not a can — that’s now three straight decision wins. If he wants to crack the Top 5, Garry is going to need a signature victory on his resume before any type of title shot.
Final result: Garry def. Page via unanimous decision
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