This past Saturday at UFC 303, the PPV main card was kicked off by a very intriguing matchup in the welterweight division. Undefeated Irish contender Ian Garry (15-0) was looking to remain unbeaten as he took on the dangerous and entertaining Michael “Venom” Page (22-3).
Garry has always said that he’d like to prove that he’s the best striker in the welterweight division and he had a chance to prove just how good his striking was against Michael “Venom” Page. However, many (including myself) wondered if he’d try to take the path of least resistance and use wrestling to win.
We got our answer early on. When the fight started, it was clear that Garry was at a huge speed disadvantage on the feet. MVP was coming in and out with Garry unable to land. He decided to use wrestling and he got the fight to the ground. He ended up getting the back of MVP and nearly submitted him.
In the second round, they were on the feet a lot and MVP outclassed Garry. He hit him with big shots and Garry couldn’t get anything going. In the third round, it started strong for MVP and after a scramble, he ended up on top of Garry. They eventually got back up and Garry pushed MVP against the face.
Page gave up his back and Garry hung on his back for the last couple of minutes not doing much. Dana White thought it was a draw, but with the back control, Ian Garry picked up the unanimous decision win at UFC 303.
What’s next after UFC 303?
At the end of the day, Ian Garry fought incredibly smart. If he did the Kevin Holland against Wonderboy strategy, he would have lost a lopsided decision on Saturday night. He is not better than MVP on the feet and he was so much slower that it would’ve been incredibly one-sided.
That said, he still got the win and he’s still unbeaten. Entering Saturday, he was ranked seventh and due to MVP being ranked outside the top ten, I’m not sure they’ll be much movement there. With that being said, what should the UFC do with Garry next? Garry has big aspirations and I give him a lot of credit for calling out Shavkat Rakhmonov in the post-fight press conference.
If Garry is serious, I think it’s a great matchup for both. They’re both undefeated and Shavkat has a 100% finish rate. You could easily book that as a title eliminator. Another option could be the winner of Gilbert Burns – Sean Brady which goes down in September. Perhaps former UFC champion Kamaru Usman becomes an option. Really anyone around the top five or title picture should be next for Garry. It’s sink or swim time.