The UFC President, Dana White, took to the UFC’s social media channels yesterday to announce another fight for the main card at UFC 303, scheduled to take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 29. The event will be the largest gate in UFC history with ticket sales exceeding the $20 million mark for the first time.
The reason behind the record amount is largely down to the return of ‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor as he makes his long-awaited return to the Octagon to face Michael Chandler. The fight has been a long time in the making as the pair’s rivalry dates back to early 2023 when they began coaching opposing teams for the 31st instalment of ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’
With Khalil Rountree pulling out of his light-heavyweight fight against former champion, Jamahal Hill, Carlos Ulberg has stepped in to save the co-main event for UFC 303. The pay-per-view is a little over a month away and the main card still needs beefing up in order to appease fans; Dana White’s announcement has gone some way to achieving that.
Ian Machado Garry’s Next Opponent
There was some expectation that Ian Garry’s next opponent would be Colby Covington, as the pair have gone back and forth on social media, cutting their own promos to hype their rivalry. Covington, however, indicated in various podcasts over the past few weeks that Garry wouldn’t be his next opponent and dismissed both Garry’s credentials and position in the welterweight rankings. Talk of the fight happening became muted, and Michael ”Venom” Page’s name came to the forefront as he expressed an interest in fighting the Irishman.
It seemed as though Page faced the same issue as Garry faced when calling out Colby Covington. After his victory over Geoff Neal three months ago, Ian Garry has risen to #7 in the welterweight rankings and has his eyes set on breaking into the top 5 of the 170lb division. Garry only seemed interested in fighting people above him in the rankings, and with Page being ranked six places below him, a fight between them looked unlikely as Garry looked to position himself for a title shot in the near future. Furthermore, Page indicated in a recent interview with Sky Sports that he was willing to fight Ian Garry and had signed to fight him, but the other party didn’t seem willing to do so.
Things have now changed, and Garry has signed on the dotted line to face the Englishman at UFC 303. Defending his unbeaten MMA record (14-0) won’t be easy for Garry. Although Michael Page is only ranked #13, it’s unclear at this point if that’s an accurate reflection of his status in the welterweight division. The former Bellator star didn’t lose his first mixed martial arts fight until his fifteenth outing and impressed on his UFC debut with a unanimous decision victory over Kevin Holland at UFC 299 back in March.
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