Miami, FL — Bellator welterweight star Michael Page makes the jump to the UFC this Saturday at UFC 299, where he takes on Kevin Holland in one of the most highly-anticipated debuts of the year.
Page (21-2) follows in the steps of fellow Bellator MMA stars like Eddie Alvarez, Will Brooks, Ben Askren, and Michael Chandler, who made the transition to varying degrees of success. “MVP” reflected on the move during Wednesday’s UFC 299 media day in Miami, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press.
“It’s been amazing. Just getting to know the team, the team over here is just so organized, so on point. So welcoming, so hospitable, so helpful. It’s good, it really does feel like I’ve been signed to a new football team, and just getting a lot of sympathies. Everything is just done at a top-tier level, so professional. I’m excited, I’m happy to be here.”
Asked what the biggest difference between the two companies has been, Page noted that it’s not the level of competition, but the organization itself.
“Organization. Structure. People on the floor. Just professionalism. It definitely feels like I’ve stepped up a league,” explained Page. “We’re not talking about opponent here or caliber of fighter, because for me mixed martial arts is a sport, and I’ve fought so many guys in the UFC and so many guys outside of the UFC and the standard is the same, it just depends on the practitioner.”
Instead, continued “Venom” Page, “it’s more about what’s happening out there. The guys are so on it, so helpful. Seriously for me that’s the key thing. Even having to make weight and these guys are sorting out your food, and your nutrition. It’s just so helpful. I’m so used to having to organize all that kind of stuff myself. Not having to think about that kind of thing, it really does play a massive part in your experience coming into a fight.”
Page also explained on Wednesday that the reason he targeted the UFC for years was because early on, he was one of those fans who only knew MMA as the UFC. “I was a typical fan before, so I only knew UFC. I was probably the guy who would probably ask you ‘do you do UFC?’ at the time. So going into mixed martial arts was me wanting to go to UFC, to the point where I was considering moving to America.”
Watch the full UFC 299 media day appearance by Michael Page above.
