We are just a couple of weeks removed from UFC 299 where we saw Michael “Venom” Page (22-2) make his highly anticipated debut inside the octagon. He made his debut against the always entertaining Kevin Holland (25-11).
In the matchup, MVP frustrated Holland with his incredible speed and unique striking style. The difficult puzzle that is Michael “Venom” Page was just too much for Holland to solve and MVP walked away getting the unanimous decision win in his octagon debut.
After the fight, Dana White admitted that given his style and image, the UFC needed to think carefully about his next matchup. With the promotion wanting to build up his star power, you aren’t going to see him take on some elite grappler like a Gilbert Burns next.
With that in mind, I thought a great opponent would be Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. That would be a dream matchup for anyone who loves that karate blitz style of striking. However, MVP was on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour today and he had another name in mind for his next UFC bout.
MVP’s Next UFC Target
MVP told Helwani that he would love to fight Ian Garry (14-0) next. Garry fought last month and kept his undefeated record by winning a split decision over Geoff Neal. With that win, Garry moved up to 7th in the rankings while MVP has debuted at 13th after his win over Kevin Holland.
MVP talked about how big that fight could be in the UK with him being an English star and Garry being from Ireland. I think it’s a tremendous matchup on paper, however, I do wonder if Garry would take the fight. Not because he wouldn’t be interested in the matchup, but I’m not sure Garry would be interested in fighting back in the rankings.
He’s been steadily climbing up the rankings and he has his eyes set on former UFC interim champion Colby Covington (17-4). Covington is ranked fourth and he’s coming off a decision loss to Leon Edwards for the title back in December. Covington and Garry have been going back-and-forth over social media and it seems like that fights going to happen.
However, if it doesn’t, Garry would be a great matchup for MVP. I still like the Wonderboy fight personally, but I would sign up for either of those.
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