Ian Machado Garry tempted destiny on the toes simply lengthy sufficient to get to his floor sport to grind out a victory over Michael Web page.
Garry (15-0 MMA, 8-0 UFC) knew his greatest path to victory could be with grappling, and that’s precisely the gameplan he applied to attain a unanimous determination (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) win over Web page within the UFC 303 major card opener at T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas.
After referee Mark Smith signaled for the combat to start, chants of “MVP” roared via the gang as Web page shuffled over to Garry in his aspect stance.
Each provided just a few single strikes, however neither discovered the mark. Nevertheless, Garry had the primary vital second, getting a takedown from a caught kick.
Garry labored his strategy to Web page’s again and locked in a physique triangle. A second later, an arm was underneath the neck, and the rear-naked choke was locked in. Web page escaped the choke, however needed to cope with Garry’s punches from the again till the horn.
Web page stung Garry with a proper hand early in Spherical 2. Darting out and in, Web page linked with one other mixture whereas evading Garry’s strikes. A second later, Web page swung and missed, leaving a gap for Garry to shortly latch on for a clinch. Garry then dropped down for a leg lock, however couldn’t safe it.
Again on the toes, Web page linked with a quick two-punch combo. After lacking with a flying knee, Web page blasted with one other combo simply earlier than the horn.
With 5 minutes remaining, Web page continued to hunt for strikes on the toes. An ungainly conflict led to the combat going to the bottom with Web page on prime. Garry was capable of sneak in just a few strong elbows from his again whereas working with a physique triangle.
Halfway via the spherical, the combat returned to standing place, however didn’t keep there lengthy as Garry bought a takedown and shortly scrambled to the again. Web page stood with Garry driving his again alongside the fence, and the gang grew stressed as the ultimate seconds ticked away.
Throughout his post-fight interview, Garry mentioned he thought his greatest path to a end was engaged on the bottom, quite than attempting to commerce with Web page on the toes. He additionally made his title intentions clear whereas talking with Joe Rogan.
“I’m coming for that world title, 15-0,” Garry mentioned. “Undefeated. Unstoppable. I don’t care who’s subsequent, the place it’s. I’m going to be a world champion. The longer term is inevitable and I’m coming for that belt.
With the end result, Garry picked up his second win of 2024 and saved his undefeated file intact. In February at UFC 298, Garry received a break up determination over Geoff Neal. Now 8-0 within the UFC, Garry firmly locations his identify within the welterweight title image.
Up-to-the-minute UFC 303 outcomes embrace:
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Ian Machado Garry def. Michael Web page by way of unanimous determination (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Joe Pyfer def. Marc-Andre Barriault by way of knockout (punches) – Spherical 1, 1:25
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Andre Fili def. Cub Swanson by way of unanimous determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
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Jean Silva def. Charles Jourdain by way of knockout (punch) – Spherical 2, 1:22
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Payton Talbott def. Yanis Ghemmouri by way of knockout (punches) – Spherical 1, 0:19
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Gillian Robertson def. Michelle Waterson-Gomez by way of unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
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Martin Buday def. Andrei Arlovski by way of break up determination (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
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Rei Tsuruya def. Carlos Hernandez by way of unanimous determination (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
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Vinicius Oliveira def. Ricky Simon by way of unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 303.
Story initially appeared on MMA Junkie