The UFC 303 event was held in Las Vegas and featured many thrilling battles, including a TKO win by Alex Pereira against Jiri Prochazka in the main event. Following this was the co-main event fight between Dan Ige and Diego Lopes. Lopes’s original opponent was Brian Ortega, but he had pulled out some days prior due to illness.
The UFC 303 match began with leg kicks from Lopes, but Ige managed to keep his defenses up and counter some of the strikes. The fighters were not on their feet for long as Lopes wrestled Ige into a guillotine choke, but he broke through before the opening round came to a close. The following round saw Lopes landing more leg kicks and a body triangle that Ige broke out from. The two continued to wrestle and land body shots. After five fierce rounds, Lopes was declared a win by unanimous decision.
Another big fight on the lineup was the battle between Ian Machado Garry and Michael Page. During pre-fight meetups, Garry boasted about his abilities and did not see the appeal in fighting Page. However, Venom gave him a tough time in the cage. Round one began with a takedown by Garry after a failed high kick by Page. Garry soon had him in a rear-naked choke that could have ended the fight, but Page managed to stay in the game and break free from the submission even with Garry on his back.
The second round began with a hard right hand by Page, who followed with a couple of jabs and an overhand. Garry went in for another takedown and held Page in place with a leg lock. The two soon got up, and Page landed a couple more shots before the round ended. The last round saw Garry on ‘Venom’ in a body triangle, but he wiggled his way out. The fight ended with a unanimous decision win for Garry.
“Nothing surprises me, “Garry said of his performance. “ I knew how good he was, how talented he was. For me, it was patience. Patience was the key today. Today was patience. He did a great game plan today. Tonight was an awesome fight. I’m coming for that world title. I don’t care who’s next. I’m going to be a world champion. I’m coming for that belt.
“I’m f*cking pissed I didn’t land that submission in the first round. I am. I’m livid. But you know what? I showed so much evolution today. I frustrated him. Like, I snake-charmed the snake-charmer. He likes people to do the dance with him, to move, to keep that flow, that rhythm, and he works well off that rhythm, that timing. I hit him with stealth mode. And I walked him down. I preyed him.
“He didn’t have a lot of success,” Garry continued. “I didn’t have a lot of success on the feet. I wobbled him in the second round with a right hand, I seen his eyes go, and I was like, ‘Patience.’ I’ve been saying all week–I said it to Demian [Maia], I said it to Diego [Lima], I said it to everyone on my team. The key to beating Michael ‘Venom’ Page was Patience.”
After his fight, the undefeated champion was pretty stoked and called out Shavkat Rahkmonov for his next fight.
“Look, I’m going to have a chat with Hunter [Campbell] and Dana [White] later on and figure out what’s next. There’s some big names, there’s some cool matchups,” Garry said at a post-fight conference. “This Shavkat [Rakhmonov], 18-0, undefeated– I’d love to get my hands on him. I’ve trained with him. I have nothing but respect for the guy, but I want to be the first guy to take his ‘0’, and I know I can do it… When it comes to the grappling, we’ve seen the growth that I have. I’m excited to go out there and prove it against someone like him.”
Other fights on the UFC 303 main card included Roman Dolidze’s unanimous decision win against Anthony Smith, and Macy Chiasson’s TKO win against Mayar Bueno Silva–the fight-crowned performance of the night.
