Michael ‘Venom’ Page is ready to right the wrongs of his UFC 303 outing, admitting ‘I did not perform the way I should have performed.’
The number 13 ranked Welterweight met Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 and was handed only the third loss of his career as he dropped a unanimous decision to the unbeaten Irishman.
Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘MVP’ reflected on the bout and admitted that he underperformed and made some uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the contest. The loss has further motivated Page to get back in the Octagon and perform at the level MMA fans are used to seeing him at.
“I got to the fight and just wasn't quite myself in there. For me, it just, motivated me a bit more.
“Exactly what I said was going to happen happened in as much as Ian said he’s this level of a striker, he didn't want to strike with me. I tell people the same thing all the time, when I'm bouncing around in front of you, it's a very different game, you know, he went from for a different plan.
“Again, there’s a couple of decisions during the fight, I could have made and done better to maybe scrape the result but that's just not it's just not me. I prefer to go and get a big finish and I wanted to knock him out. I've got a lot to adjust and adapt to, but I'm super motivated to get back, super motivated, like I'm on holiday now and I'm literally I just want to be in the gym”
Fans took to social media to express their thoughts after the bout, with some saying they felt Page should have been the victor. However, the 37-year-old disagrees and believes the correct man won on the night.
“Regardless, I didn't perform well. If I somehow managed to get the win, I wouldn't have been happy with that anyway. If it was somehow a draw, still wouldn't have been happy with that. I focus on me and I did not perform the way I should have performed. I made so many mistakes, just silly things.
“I wouldn't have been happy with that, and for me, I lost the fight. You know, that's the reality of it is regardless of what everyone saying that is where I'm like ‘yeah, I should have done, you know, X-Y-Z and I'm just eager to get back in.”
Page was expecting the fight he received from Machado Garry and wants to get back to training and making sure he does not make the mistakes he proclaimed he had, and give his opponents no other option that to stand and trade with him.
“He went for a certain game plan, but it was something that I expected. It's something that I've spoken about to yourself and other people that, you know, no matter what people say, how good they claim to be as a striker, when they stand in front of me, everything changes.
“They go for plan Z and I say that every single time I'm going to fight someone that is, claiming to be a credible striker, every single time and the same thing happens every single time. They turn into wrestlers, they turn into jiu jitsu artists and I just was making so many errors in those areas, which I would normally not but like I said, it just means doubling down, tighten up in those areas and it just means when I get to that level I know I'm going to get to very soon, nobody has a chance. It means you're going to be forced to fight me in stand up and that's not a place anybody wants to be.”
Watch the full interview below:
