Familiar with both [autotag]Michael Page[/autotag] and [autotag]Ian Machado Garry[/autotag], [autotag]Logan Storley[/autotag] gave his take on their fight.
Page (22-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) takes on Garry (14-0 MMA, 7-0 UFC) in Saturday’s main card opener at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+).
Storley defeated Page by split decision in their interim welterweight title fight in May 2022. He also spent time training with Garry at Kill Cliff FC before the undefeated contender left for Chute Boxe in Sao Paulo.
Having gone five rounds with Page, Storley praised his speed. He resorted to his decorated wrestling background, landing eight takedowns to edge out the win.
“Obviously, Ian trained with us at Kill Cliff, I spent 25 minutes in the cage with MVP,” Storley told MMA Junkie Radio. “I think it’s going to be a very close fight. That’s what I see, but I think MVP’s speed is different. But Ian’s got good length, got really good kicks, good calf kicks, which could slow MVP down, and they’re both long and rangy.
“So, I don’t know who’s going to win that fight. I just know it’s going to be very technical, and they’re both going to have to deal with different problems. Ian controls the distance well, and MVP’s speed is just different.”
Storley (15-3) will be in action this week himself when he takes on short-notice replacement Luca Poclit (10-1) in Friday’s 2024 PFL 6 (ESPN/ESPN+) co-main event at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.
During his Bellator tenure, Storley picked up wins over Page and Joaquin Buckley, both who are now ranked UFC welterweights.
“I’m glad that they’re doing well,” Storley said. “It speaks to the level that was at Bellator to see those guys go over there and compete really well in the UFC, and you respect them. You shared time with them in the cage. So yeah, they’re both doing really well, and it’s exciting to see.”
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