Ian Machado Garry hits back at Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s “Fake Conor McGregor” label

Ian Machado Garry compares himself to Kobe Bryant and Conor McGregor

During his UFC 303 pre-fight media day press conference, Garry responded to Page’s comments.

“Anyone who says I’m trying to be like Conor McGregor, or that I’m trying to do anything to be like Conor, I take that as a compliment!” Gary exclaimed. “He is the biggest star the sport has ever seen. So if you compare me to him, that means I’m doing something right. People say I want to be like him, but I’m not trying to be like him in any way. Am I inspired by him? Absolute. How many people were talking about Kobe Bryant trying to look like Michael Jordan? Kobe Bryant went out and made his own legacy in his own way, but with similar traits and styles to Jordan…

“I was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, Conor (is too). He talks the talk and walks the walk, backs it up, and I’m exactly the same,” Garry continued. “Conor has done everything he said he was going to do in his career, I still have to prove what I’ve done. What I have to do, that’s my job. So my job is to continue what I am doing, on my journey towards destiny, on the goal I have set. The destiny written for me…my goal is to do it my way. And at the end, people will just say, ‘Wow, this kid was special and he did it his own way,’ and that’s the only way I look at it.

Garry was first compared to McGregor when he won the Cage Warriors welterweight championship in 2021. He subsequently signed with the UFC and is undefeated in the promotion in seven fights.

This will be Page’s second UFC appearance after signing to free agency earlier this year. He defeated Kevin Holland in his UFC debut in March.

Garry has publicly expressed how much of an inspiration McGregor has been to his combat sports career, further fueling the ridicule from Page and others. He also defended McGregor’s decision to withdraw from the UFC 303 main event.

Ian Machado Garry and Conor McGregor will probably always draw comparisons, for better or worse, by the masses. A win over Page on Saturday could go a long way toward silencing his opponents.