Having shared the cage with him at UFC 303, Michael "Venom" Page doesn't see Ian Garry reaching the top of the welterweight division.
The pair collided in the main card opener of the International Fight Week pay-per-view on June 29 in Las Vegas. The three-round affair was widely branded somewhat lackluster, with the Irishman utilizing his grappling to edge frames one and three on the scorecards.
The result marked the latest addition to Garry's undefeated professional record and moved his UFC slate to 8-0, cementing his top 10 spot in the process.
While "The Future" has confidently expressed that he'll now move on to focusing on those above him in the pecking order and the title, "MVP" is confident he'll soon have his résumé blemished...
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Page looked back on the defeat he suffered in what marked just his second fight competing on mixed martial arts' biggest stage following a decade in Bellator.
The Londoner expressed frustration with his performance inside T-Mobile Arena, suggesting the result was more down to his own shortcomings than Garry's efforts inside the Octagon.
With that in mind, Page didn't feel like he was squaring off against a sure-fire future champion. Far from it, in fact. "Venom" recalled facing someone who would get "killed" by UFC Welterweight Champion Leon Edwards and top contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.
Not all. No," Page said when asked if he sees Garry as a future champion. "Because if that’s the game you’re going to (use) when you get a decent striker, then Leon is going to kill you anyway, then Shavkat is going to kill you anyway. There’s a few guys in there that I just don’t see him surpassing. ... Even in some of the areas, he didn’t feel massively strong. I’m not even trying to be disrespectful to him, because again, he’s done his job, he was smart about how he kind of went by it. But for me, regardless, this game for me is about combat. It’s about fighting. Not about stealing wins.
Even like I said, that last round, I didn’t necessarily need to stand up or need to let him stand up. I could’ve stayed there and just dragged it out and potentially got a better score in the third round and maybe that would’ve swayed it, but that’s not the game I’m in. I’m in a combat game. Like, I want to cause damage, I want to hurt people," Page continued. "So yeah, I don’t see him progressing to the top. I think he’s talented. I think he’ll always be around there, top 10, top five, and then he’ll keep losing out to certain people. But he is still talented, and obviously he’s got a loads of time to progress and get better anyway.
Garry no doubt feels differently, having frequently insisted that a title crowning on MMA's biggest stage is inevitable. He'll look to prove that when he returns to action, potentially against one of the names mentioned by Page.
Post-UFC 303, the Irishman had the name of Rakhmonov on his lips. While he got a positive response from "Nomad," it remains to be seen if the UFC will share the same outlook and pair them together next.
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