Michael ‘Venom’ Page Weighs In on Ian Machado Garry’s Chances of Dethroning Islam Makhachev
Michael “Venom” Page has given his two cents on the potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry fight.
Makhachev, who vacated his lightweight title last year, moved up and claimed the welterweight title at UFC 322 by dethroning Jack Della Maddalena. He’s expected to make the first defense of his 170-pound championship post-Ramadan, and rumors strongly suggest that Garry will be his next opponent.
Ian Machado Garry suffered his lone MMA defeat to Shavkat Rakhmonov in 2024. However, in 2025, to firmly enter the title conversation, he made a strong comeback by defeating Carlos Prates and former champ Belal Muhammad.
“The Future” most recently traveled to Gori, Georgia, to refine his wrestling skills ahead of a potential showdown with Makhachev.
Michael Page talks about the potential Islam Makhachev vs. Ian Machado Garry bout
Michael Page most recently appeared in an interview with Bloody Elbow. During the sit-down, Page first talked about Ian Machado Garry’s win over Belal Muhammad last year at UFC Qatar:
“To be fair, his fight against Belal [Muhammad] somewhat not shocked me but I was very impressed with that fight.”
Page has faced “The Future” at UFC 303 and lost by unanimous decision. After sharing the octagon with the Dubliner, he believes Garry to be a tricky opponent for Makhachev, as the Irishman has a lot of tools in his backpack, enough to trouble a formidable opponent.
“I do feel like he’s [Ian Machado Garry] a very smart fighter. He’s got great striking ability, obviously, his length is going to play a part, and he’s difficult to take down and keep down. He gets up. He knows his positions, and his jiu-jitsu is at a very decent level.”
However, if Makhachev takes down “The Future,” “Venom” says it won’t be an easy game for Garry to get up:
“Makhachev, if he gets you down, it’s a very different game to fighting somebody else. If you look at this fight with [Jack Della Maddalena], “JDM” is probably the scramble king. I’ve never seen him not be able to get up from anybody, apart from Islam. It shows you the quality of Islam on top of somebody. It’s a very obvious thing, that’s where [Ian Machado Garry] is going to have the most amount of trouble.”
Lastly, Michael Page added that Ian Machado Garry needs to stop the takedowns at all costs when facing the UFC welterweight champion and also inflict enough damage so that Islam Makhachev has a hard time finishing him even if he manages to take him down down.
“I do feel like [Makhachev] will get to him at least once in a five-round fight, to finish a submission. If he can stay on his feet, keep the striking, and damage him enough to weaken him, so even if he does get taken down, he doesn’t have the strength to finish him. But he’s not really a damaging fighter, he’s a more pointy, keep his distance type of striker. So, it’s gonna be a difficult one for him to do, but he’s a very, very smart competitor, and he is talented.”
Check out Michael Page’s comments below (16:55):
