Ahead of what is an utterly mouthwatering matchup at UFC 303 on June 29, Michael ‘Venom’ Page has claimed that Ian Machado Garry doesn’t seem like his ‘usual self’.
Streaking welterweight contender, Ian Machado Garry, originally campaigned for a fight at UFC 303 against three-time welterweight title challenger, Colby Covington, but ‘Chaos’ rejected the potential fight.
With everyone else ahead of ‘The Future’ in the rankings already booked or injured, he accepted a fight against Michael ‘Venom’ Page, despite claiming that he wouldn’t fight the Londoner because of where he’s ranked.
Michael Page believes Garry isn’t his ‘usual self’ ahead of UFC 303
The highly anticipated UFC 303 card took a major blow this past week when Dana White announced that Conor McGregor is out of his scheduled main event against Michael Chandler.
Machado Garry previously made it clear that he has always dreamed of sharing a card with ‘The Notorious’ McGregor, and he was just weeks away from seeing those dreams become a reality.
“I think (Garry) was a bit too stressed about riding on the coattails of Conor (McGregor) so now that this has happened, hopefully, he learns that these things can happen and he should just focus on himself,” Page told MMAJunkie.
Ahead of his fights, the 26-year-old Irishman usually markets his fights well on social media by taking digs at his upcoming opponents, however, ahead of his fight on June 29, Machado Garry has been quiet and respectful.
“He doesn’t seem to be his usual self but for me, yeah it’s all fun and games at the end of the day, the most important thing is the result in the cage so yeah I like to have fun back and forth and banter here and there, but it’s all about fight day,” Page added.
Page wasn’t offered a five-round co-main event spot despite Garry’s desire
One thing Machado Garry has been vocal about online is the fact that he wants his fight against the 37-year-old striker to be contested over a five-round co-main event.
Despite that, Page revealed that he was never offered the opportunity to fight the Irishman in a five-round co-main event, stating that Garry ‘just talks’.
“No (it was never offered) that guy just talks, he just says stuff, I don’t think he would’ve wanted to spend any more time in the cage with me at all.
“I think he just likes attention so he’ll just say stuff but that was never really anything that even came up,” the Brit explained.
With Dana White’s announcement of McGregor’s withdrawal, the boss also announced that Alex Pereira is stepping in to defend his 205lb title in a rematch against Jiri Prochazka.
A featherweight fight between Diego Lopes and Brian Ortega was also announced by White, and it will serve as the co-main event ahead of the welterweight matchup between Garry and Page.
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