Ian Machado Garry opened the main card at UFC 303 as he defeated Michael ‘Venom’ Page via unanimous decision, and continued his winning streak. As the two entered the bout, the Irishman was quite confident in his speed and agility. Despite his win, the fanbase wasn’t quite happy with the performance. While the Irishman is known to be a phenom as a striker, he stood back and stuck to grappling. This act greatly disappointed the fans and they began to believe that Garry was being cowardly for not wanting to exchange blows with MVP.

‘The Future’ came into the Octagon with an undefeated record of 14 wins under his belt. On the other hand, MVP, the new addition to the UFC roster with a single win in his UFC record, greatly impressed the fight fans like he usually does. Page’s experience with 22 wins and 2 losses while entering to fight Garry splashed out throughout the fight. Without a doubt, it was a spectacle to watch as the two strikers collided against each other.

The welterweight bout began with Page putting his guard down. But soon, Garry executed a takedown and took the fight to the ground. MVP wasn’t one to back down but as he struggled to get out of Garry’s grip, he let the Irish fighter have his back. The fight soon turned against Page as ‘The Future’ took control with a rear naked choke.

Nevertheless, Page’s experience gave him the strength to escape yet again, but his back was still controlled by Garry as the Irishman won the first round. Following a bit of strike in the second round, Garry pulled his opponent. That was when the UFC witnessed how well MVP’s takedown defenses are as he went out of Garry’s heel hook. He escaped yet another attempt for submission and made sure he struck Garry a few times with some strong fists. This round went in Page’s favor.

The same pattern was followed in the final round. Garry performed one more takedown and the duo clinched. But the Irishman was simply taking the guard and had to let go. Without a doubt, the crowd went into a frenzy as MVP escaped from Garry’s clutches and struck him in the face. But soon, Garry took control of Page’s back. He kept trying to submit MVP, but the Londoner was simply too good. Let’s take a look at what the fans had to say.

Ian Garry’s grappling game against Michael ‘Venom’ Page has fans up in arms

The fans were expecting a striking game since that’s where Garry excels. But watching him execute multiple takedowns and trying to submit his opponent, the fight fans were indeed impressed. But the fans seemed to speculate that it was all because the Irishman was scared of exchanging blows with MVP. One of the fans wrote:

Meanwhile, the sentiment was shared by another fight fan.

Another fan pointed out how the Irishman came in as a striker but left as a grappler.

Some of the fans wondered how Garry won without having to land a single significant strike on his opponent.

One more fan commended the Irish mixed martial artist’s grappling skills. The applause was directed towards Charles Oliveira and Damien Maia.

As the fanbase was attacking the Irishman, one fan stood up and declared that MVP would be waiting to take advantage of Garry’s confidence in the near future.

Did the fight play out as per your predictions? Would you have liked it better if Garry won the bout? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.