Ian Machado Garry campaigns for a big change to his UFC 303 fight against Michael ‘Venom’ Page

Following his win over Neal, the Irishman campaigned for a fight against Colby Covington for UFC 303, but ‘Chaos’ declined the offer.

Despite being adamant that he wouldn’t fight down in the rankings, the 26-year-old was left with no choice with everyone ahead of him either booked or injured, so a fight against Michael ‘Venom’ Page was put together.

Ian Machado Garry wants his UFC 303 fight changed to five rounds

Although the welterweight bout between Garry and Page isn’t currently listed as the co-main event, the final bout order is subject to change.

The Irishman is hopeful that his fight will serve as the co-main event, with the main event being between his idol, Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler.

With that, ‘The Future’ has revealed that he is campaigning for UFC matchmaker, Hunter Campbell, to change the fight from three rounds to five. Five-round co-main events have become more frequent as of late, with UFC 302’s co-main event between Sean Strickland and Paulo Costa being contested over five rounds.

“Just finished a really good training session, I’m feeling fresh, I’m feeling ready, I’m conditioned for five rounds so I’m going to get on the phone to Hunter Campbell and the UFC today,” Garry said on his Instagram.

“Let’s push for a five-round co-main for this. Let’s push it, this is a fight where we represent the Irish, MVP get ready for 25 minutes of pain,” he added.

Michael ‘Venom’ Page talks UFC 303 fight

Page made his long-awaited UFC debut earlier this year at UFC 299, dominating Kevin Holland over three rounds. Prior to that fight, Garry claimed that the 37-year-old had no chance of beating ‘The Trailblazer’.

The Brit currently sits at rank 14 at 170lbs, seven spots lower than the 26-year-old Irishman. Despite that, because of his name value, Page is likely only one or two more wins away from earning a UFC welterweight title shot.

Although Garry is campaigning for this fight to be changed to five rounds, Page is unlikely to agree to that change at such short notice. When Page got the call to fight Garry at UFC 303, he was on holiday enjoying himself.

When the fight was rumored, Page’s team was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to make the weight on such short notice, however, MVP is now deep into his fight camp.

“This is a shorter turnaround than normal,” Page admitted in a video on his YouTube channel. “I was hoping to get this fight on the Manchester card (UFC 304) because it felt like it made more sense, it gave me a little bit more time and a more normal camp time,” Page added.

Page stated that his fight against Garry will feel like his fight against Kevin Holland because Garry will feel like he can stand and strike with him.

“It’s going to feel very similar to (the) Kevin Holland (fight) because this guy is going to feel like he can stand with me and he can’t,” Page claimed.

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