UFC 303: Ireland's Ian Machado Garry extends unbeaten streak with unanimous win over Michael 'Venom' Page

BySam Rooke

Updated 30/06/2024 at 08:36 GMT+1

Rising UFC star Ian Machado Garry continued his rapid ascent on Saturday night in Las Vegas with a unanimous points victory over Michael Page at UFC 303. The 26-year-old Dubliner maintained his perfect record, moving to 15-0, defeating the English veteran Page. Page flashed early in the fight, but it was Garry who went the distance after getting close enough to shut down the older fighter's speed.

'I'm going to be world champion' - Garry on victory over Page

Ian Machado Garry said "patience was the key" to victory over Michael 'Venom' Page after his unanimous points victory at UFC 303 in Las Vegas.

Dubliner Garry, who extended his unbeaten record to 15-0, showcased his versatility in taking a 29-28 win on all three cards - as he won the first and third rounds with grappling.

Usually relying on his quick and powerful striking, against a point fighter with quicker hands and feet, Garry was close to turning out the lights of his opponent in the first round as he locked in a choke hold after taking Page down to the mat.

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The second round, which saw mostly stand-up action, went the way of the Londoner who landed a number of right hands with Garry unable to land many blows.

With all to play for in the final five minutes, Garry locked a body triangle early in the round and then got position on Page's back with a head lock for the second half of it.

Complimentary about his defeated rival, Garry said on TNT Sports: “He did a great, great game plan today. Tonight was an awesome fight."

The Dubliner insisted that patience was the decisive factor.

He explained: "Nothing surprised me. I knew how good he was, how talented he was. For me, it was patience. Patience was the key today. Today was patience."

Continuing, Garry set his sights on higher ambitions: "The future is inevitable and I'm coming for this belt. I’m coming for that world title. I don’t care who’s next. I’m going to be a world champion."

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, the victor gave more insight to his tactics.

He explained: "I am ****ing ****ed I didn’t land that submission in the first round, but I showed so much evolution today. I snake-charmed the snake charmer. I made him frustrated. He likes people to do that dance with him, to keep that rhythm, and he works well off that rhythm, I hit him with stealth mode. I walked him down, I preyed [upon] him.

"He didn’t have a lot of success. I didn’t have a lot of success on my feet. I wobbled him in the second round with my right. I saw his eyes go. And I said ‘patience.’ The key to beating Michael ‘Venom’ Page is patience."

In the final fight of the evening's action, Alex Pereira's legend continued to grow with a devastating second-round technical knockout victory over Jiri Prochazka.

The rematch from the fight in November, which saw the same result, was a much more one-sided affair with Pereira tagging Prochazka repeatedly in the first round, before landing a left hook on the buzzer which would have ended the bout if it had come just a few seconds earlier.