Joe Rogan expects Ian Machado Garry to struggle when he steps inside the Octagon against the unorthodox fighting style of Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
On Saturday night, June 29, ‘The Future’ will look to score his 15th career victory and take one step closer toward his first shot at UFC gold. Of course, that’ll be much easier said than done when he meets MVP, one of MMA’s most unusual strikers.
After competing under the Bellator banner for a decade, Page made his promotional debut at UFC 299 in March, scoring a decisive decision victory over Kevin Holland. Though the performance left a lot to be desired from an action perspective, it quickly became clear that ‘Venom’ could be a very real problem within the welterweight division due to his offbeat technique.
Discussing the pair’s impending clash on his JRE Fight Companion, Rogan suggested that Garry could be in for a long night against the Westminster native.
“Michael ‘Venom’ Page is a different thing inside the Octagon,” Rogan said. “I think he’s (Garry) going to have a really hard time finding that guy.
“I just think that he (Page) is the most difficult puzzle on the feet I’ve ever seen. Kevin Holland is a good striker, a very good striker. But he didn’t even come close to hitting him like that dude was just not there; it’s a different thing, man. And he’s tall as sh*t.”
Ian Machado Garry Has No Interest In Fighting Michael ‘Venom’ Page
After making a name for himself under the Cage Warriors banner, Ian Machado Garry stormed into the UFC and rattled off seven-straight wins, his most recent coming against Geoff Neal at UFC 298 in February.
As it stands, ‘The Future’ is holding strong at No. 7 in the welterweight rankings. With Page sitting seven spots below him at No. 14, Garry had no interest in taking the bout initially. In fact, he still isn’t interested even as he closes in on fight night.
“I’m still not interested in it,” he said. “I have no interest in it, I’ve told you. Here’s the way I look at it: I’m undefeated, I’ve beaten everybody put in front of me in the best way I believe I can. And I go out there and I get my hand raised any way, shape and form possible. That is my job. When I do that, I fight up because my goal is to be the world champion.
“I’m looking at the guys above me. There’s six or seven guys ahead of me, there’s Gilbert [Burns], there’s Shavkat [Rakhmonov], there’s Jack Della Maddalena, there’s Colby [Covington], there’s [Kamaru] Usman, Belal [Muhammad] and Leon [Edwards]. All I’ve done in my career is win. I deserve to fight one of those guys. I have to fight one of those guys because that is my projection.
“I’m on a projection to be one of the world champions. I’m on a projection to be one of the biggest stars the sport’s ever seen. I have no interest in fighting below me. I’ve already fought [No.] 15 in the world, 10 in the world, 8 in the world, why on Earth would I want to fight No. 13? I still have no interest in fighting Michael. I have no interest in fighting him.”
