Michael “Venom” Page is setting the record straight about his move up to 185 pounds.
Former Bellator standout Page (23-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) is preparing to face former middleweight title challenger Jared Cannonier (18-8 MMA, 11-8 UFC) at UFC 319 in Chicago on August 16, marking his second consecutive fight in the division.
Page—who has spent the majority of his career competing at 170 pounds—maintains that his move to middleweight happened by default, not by design.
Prior to his bout against Shara Magomedov at UFC Riyadh in February, “MVP” had insisted the jump to 185 pounds was intended as a one-off. However, after dominating the previously unbeaten Magomedov en route to a unanimous decision victory, he now finds himself booked to face “Killa Gorilla” on August 16.
"It is what it is. It's kind of worked out how it's worked out," Page said this week while speaking to MMA Junkie. "I would have preferred to get a fight in the welterweight division. As I've said before, it feels like there's a lot more politics going on in the welterweight division, and everyone's a bit more tentative about who they fight. I'm just not at that stage of my career to care enough.
"I'm just like, 'Give me a good fight, and I'm in.' I expected after that last win I was going to get another good fight, and I was getting names that didn't really make any sense. So, middleweight it is. I'm happy to get such a high-level fighter, probably the highest-ranked fighter that I've had so far. So I'm excited. I'm happy with the fights that I've had."
Page competed under the Bellator banner for over a decade before signing with the UFC early last year. An impressive victory over Kevin Holland in his promotional debut was followed by a unanimous decision loss to Ian Machado Garry shortly after. The Londoner hasn’t fought at 170 pounds since—and isn’t in any rush to move back down just yet.
"Now having confirmed that Islam (Makhachev) is coming up to welterweight to fight Jack Della (Maddalena), again, it feels like welterweight is just going to be a bit of a holdup," Page said. "Middleweight right now definitely seems way more exciting. Obviously I got Jared to focus on at the moment, but I may be staying here for a while until things start moving again at welterweight."
