Few things are as exciting as a pair of sensational strikers going at it in combat sports.
When welterweight star Michael “Venom” Page jumped ship from Bellator to the UFC this year, the MMA world started to buzz with excitement. All the new possible matchups and challenges for someone as flashy as Page were suddenly endless.
Page, 37, displayed his entertaining karate-kickboxing style to its fullest in his debut win over Kevin Holland at UFC 299. Unfortunately for “MVP,” he fell short via unanimous decision in his follow-up appearance against Ian Machado Garry in June. While Page is currently taking a short break from his UFC endeavors, he’s kept up with the happenings, and after UFC 308 he has a new — and surprising — target in sight.
“The hairs on the back of my neck went up when I heard Shara ‘Bullet’ [Magomedov] call out my boy ‘Izzy’ [Israel Adesanya],” Page said on Uncrowned’s “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I was just like, ‘Man, my boy Izzy’ is working on regaining that throne. Let me jump in. I’m happy to. You’re talking about being the best striker.’ He says in his division, but you know, right now I’m grappling in your division [for Polaris], so why not?
“At 185, I’m happy to come jump up. Absolutely beautiful [knockout from Magomedov at UFC 308]. I really enjoyed that. It was really something that he’s drilled before. I really liked that. It’s a very nice shot. I’m going to have to incorporate that as well.”
UFC 308’s return pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi was a memorable one for multiple reasons. The main card delivered immediately as middleweight hopefuls Magomedov and Armen Petrosyan battled, resulting in a never-before-seen finish — the undefeated 15-0 prospect Magomedov landed a double spinning back fist in round two. It was one of the coolest and most creative striking combinations you’ll ever see, proving how dangerous the Russian can be.
UFC 308 is currently delivering. The incredible double backfist KO of Armen Petrosyan by Shara Bullet Magomedov deserves a bonus. Beautiful thing. pic.twitter.com/mqtSOjfIrw
— Pam (@ParamPam1990) October 26, 2024
Highlight-reel knockouts of such ilk are nothing new for someone like Page, making his general intrigue no surprise. However, the desire to move up for a matchup like that so early into his UFC run is. No internal talks have been had yet about making it a reality, but Page says the February return from Magomedov perfectly aligns with his hopes.
“When it comes to striking, I fear nobody,” Page said. “I bet I get him to try and take me down. He’s going to get panicky in some way shape or form. If he doesn’t and stands with me, it’s going to be an exceptional MMA fight.
“Something just tickled me when he started speaking after watching his fight. I was like, ‘You know what? I would like that fight.’
“I still feel like I have unfinished business at 170 so I’m not going to say I’m moving up [permanently], but also, I can definitely see that in my future,” he concluded. “Not right now. Let me try and handle some business at 170 then you’ll see me move up, I’m sure.”
Although the idea of competing at middleweight is temporary for England’s Page, he could see the division as his final chapter. Until then, it’s a continued attempt to try and climb the 170-pound ladder. But first, Page has a Polaris 30 grappling match Saturday with welterweight legend Carlos Condit to worry about.
Page revealed he was originally offered the possibility to tangle with UFC Hall of Famer Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone rather than “The Natural Born Killer” — further evidence that Cerrone is indeed plotting his comeback. Ultimately, the former WEC champion stepped up to Page, which has worked out perfectly considering the grappling goals he’s wanted to focus on since the Garry loss.
“I feel like I needed it,” Page said. “This is why I wanted to take a break in the first place. Even though I’ve given myself something to do essentially in a competitive way, there is still not the same kind of pressure. So, it 100 percent feels so nice and just the environment in the gym, just learning, being a complete student again, and not being so specific in terms of the rankings and who do I fight next, every movement means something. It’s just, nah, I can go out there and enjoy myself.”
Page has done well enough in his 25-fight MMA career to get by without a strong offensive grappling game. Defensively, he’s been good enough to avoid any submission defeats, though losses to Garry — and Logan Storley at the end of his Bellator tenure — proved improvements could be made. It’s always an element incorporated into his training, but this level of attention for something competitive has been void since his pro-MMA career began in 2012, Page said.
“I’ve always been doing it,” he said of grappling training. “I just feel like because I haven’t focused on it specifically, everything’s been game plan almost. So although we do do jiu-jitsu lessons and so on and so forth and obviously learn new moves, wrestling lessons, because I kind of relatively go back-to-back on fights, as soon as you’re starting to get something new it’s like, ‘Oh no, we got this guy so now we got to get rid of all that and focus on this specific thing because this person does this or that.’ I just feel I haven’t given myself enough time to solely focus on that and enjoy it.
“It’s kind of like when I first came into the sport. It was supposed to be six months, I think it was nine months after I actually joined the sport that I had my first MMA fight. It’s been very specific to opponents since then. I thought, ‘Just let me give myself a break and be a student again.'”
Prime Page against prime Condit would have been a striker’s delight. It’s been three years since Condit officially retired from MMA competition after losing a 2021 unanimous decision to Max Griffin. The loss snapped a late-career two-fight win streak and it’s been the usual silence from Condit in life post-MMA.
A grappling match was the next-best thing the fight world could get between these two in 2024. For Page, it’s still a dream come true.
“I never thought I’d do it, especially in jiu-jitsu,” Page said of fighting Condit. “But yeah, it’s just a great matchup. I think Polaris has done a great job to put both of us together. It’s a great matchup and 100 percent he’s a legend. Some of the great fights that I’ve watched from just after I got into MMA — that’s when I really started to look into the fights and stuff, and seeing some of his fights, ah man, he’s been through some of the wars.
“I’ve seen he’s actually done Polaris a few times as well. He’s already been starting his journey in this space, but yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
