Gilbert Burns lauds Ian Garry's win over Michael 'Venom' Page at UFC 303, believes Irishman "showed a lot of potential"
Gilbert Burns saw promise in Ian Garry's win over Michael 'Venom' Page at UFC 303 despite some pushback from the MMA community.
Garry planned to outclass the striking specialist and finish him at UFC 303. However, as the bout transpired, Garry recognized Page's mastery of fighting outside range and covering distance. The Irishman leveraged his grappling skills to shut down the offense of Page en route to a unanimous decision.
Despite the victory, Garry was a touch disheartened since he didn't get the finish. Nevertheless, he was immediately spotted backstage in the aftermath of the fight fine-tuning some details with UFC welterweight contender Gilbert Burns.
Despite some fans discrediting Garry and UFC CEO Dana White scoring the fight as a potential draw, Burns lauded 'The Future' for his performance in an interview with Morning Kombat. He said [H/T mmajunkie]:
“I think in that fight, he wanted to showcase his improvements. That’s the best (way) to show your improvements in the grappling and (Page is) dangerous in the striking. I think it was a very close fight, but I think Ian showed a lot of improvements in his grappling. This guy is only 26. He showed a lot of potential. He has dangerous striking with good IQ, and his jiu-jitsu is getting better and better."
Catch Burns' comments below (3:00):
Ian Garry reacts to Dana White and some fans scoring the UFC 303 fight against Michael 'Venom' Page a draw
Ian Garry rattled off his 15th straight victory at UFC 303 against Michael 'Venom' Page by unanimous decision.
Garry got the better of the grappling exchanges, particularly in the first round, where he managed to take Page's back and threaten with submission attempts. The Irishman was "livid" that he didn't get a finish and the fight went on to be scored by the judges.
UFC CEO Dana White scored the fight differently. He claimed at the post-fight press conference that he saw the fight as a draw, a sentiment echoed by some fans too. Reacting to these comments in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Garry stated:
“You’re full of sh*t. You need to go back and watch the fight. The first round was mine. Here’s the thing, there is more of a case to say that I won all three rounds than than there is to say it was a draw. That’s the way I look at it. First round, dominated. No one in the world is arguing that. Third round, it’s pretty obvious I won.”
Catch Garry's comments below (18:30):