Bigger they are…Harder they fall. That’s what Michael ‘Venom’ Page has in mind for Ian Garry. The # 14 UFC welterweight Page takes on #7 ranked Garry in Saturday’s UFC 303 main card. As such, this battle can prove a high-paced striking clinic between the two. No matter what comes across, Page sees himself winning without much effort.
Top athletes from the UFC 303 Media Day lineup spoke to reporters Wednesday in a pre-fight conference. Page soon found himself facing an assembly of media scrum right after. There have been some to-and-fro and media round barbs, given that it’s only his second fight. Now, Page took it to a different level, labeling Garry as a ‘can.’
Outside of the main names, I’m a bit lazy with that…[laughs] Honestly, it’s weird to me. This type of a fight, had it been outside the UFC, most people would’ve been like, ‘You’re fighting a can.’ …It’s the exact same fight in the UFC and everyone’s opinions have changed now. ‘Oh, you’re fighting top-level guys,’ and this and that, now.
Michael Page via UFC 303 pre-fight Media Day
Michael Page (22-2 MMA and 17-2 Bellator; 1-0 UFC) has long maintained the label of a “can crusher” during his 19-fight tenure in Bellator MMA. The question was — was he actually fighting cans? Or was he just that good? The moniker changed to ‘skull crusher’ when a flying knee from Page dented and fractured the skull of Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos at Bellator 158.
The fighter now thinks while the circumstances haven’t changed, the narrative has. Despite a visible size discrepancy, he thinks Ian Machado Garry is no different than any other opponent. The Irish phenom might be undefeated. However, outside of UFC, under his old banner, people would still have drawn the same comparisons. Come this weekend, that ‘undefeated’ status might change.
Michael Page thinks fans have ‘overanalyzed’ the value of Ian Garry
Saturday’s fight at UFC 303 will mark Page’s second outing with the promotion. He last earned a unanimous nod over Kevin Holland when he debuted in March at UFC 299. Garry (undefeated at 14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) is quite a step up in the game for the former Bellator star. However, Page thinks much of the hype is fluff.
Michael Page says Ian Garry hype speaks more to UFC branding than actual talent (Source: irishmirror.ie/nypost.com)Ian Garry is a new signing at Charles Oliveira’s Chute Boxe. He would now look forward to being equally good on his feet and posing the threat of pulling him down to a ground game. Page does not mind the rival upping his grapple game, though. He thinks of Garry as just another bump on the way, as in his Bellator days.
I remember at one point, I had a lot of people saying I wouldn’t be able to contend in the top 10. Now, I’m fighting someone who’s ranked seventh…It changes so drastically for me — I understand the magnitude of UFC and the branding and stuff.. , but…people are fooled by the branding and not the actual fighters themselves.
Michael ‘Venom’ Page during UFC 303 pre-fight Media Day
‘MVP’ knows that the opponent, ten years younger, can prove stylistically difficult. But Michael ‘Venom’ Page theorizes that a lot of hype around Garry stems from a tainted narrative that talent-fighters and prize fights only compete inside the UFC banner. Following his fight against Garry, he has some lofty aspirations ahead of him to work his way up to undisputed gold. Hence, “can-crusher” or “skull crusher” means to get rid of the competition one way or the other.
