English striker Michael “Venom” Page had called out Shara Magomedov (better known as Shara Bullet) after the latter had called for a fight against Israel Adesanya.
As it turned out, all three men found themselves competing at UFC Saudi Arabia on Saturday, MVP and Shara Bullet facing off, and Adesanya headlining against Nassourdine Imavov.
A win for both Magomedov and Adesanya might put them on a collision course, but Bellator vet Page had made the move up to middleweight seemingly to prevent exactly that. All this played out under the looming shadow of Du Plessis vs. Strickland 2 next weekend.
Kickoff off the action, Page was in his usual sideways karate stance, hands down, light on his feet. Magomedov ripped a kick to Page’s lead leg, landing squarely on the outside, perhaps giving a glimpse of his game plan. Shara Bullet took another big swing at a low kick and missed, spinning around. Page exploded forward at one point, landing a punch and pushing Magomedov down; the Dagestani quickly scrambled back up.
Moments later, Page changed levels, perhaps thinking takedown, though there was also a slip; that left him fending off a guillotine. Back at range, the pair traded low kicks; Page went to the body with a punch, and later landed a charging right hand.
Round two of what was turning into a high-stakes chess match opened with another MVP attack. His side kicks and lunging attacks had given him a slight edge in the first, leaving Magomedov stymied more often than not. A spinning kick to the midsection seemed to indicate Page was loosening up. He’d charge in for another attack, leading to a brief clinch. Through two and a half rounds, Magomedov had failed to land a single significant head strike, connecting with low kicks and body attacks only. Yet as the second round wore on, Magomedov seemed to finally be figuring out Page’s range. Page then fired a couple of spinning attacks, including a backfist that was blocked.
In the final minute, the pair clinched up, Page putting Magomedov against the fence. They finished off a clean break, Shara having fought off what amounted to a half-hearted takedown attempt.
Between rounds, Magomedov’s corner suggested it was 1-1, which might have been a best case scenario, as there was an argument for MVP being up 2-0. Magomedov did look to get busy early, and Page showed some stance switches in response. “Venom” also connected with a right hand as Magomedov closed the distance. He’d tie things up shortly after, though the clinch didn’t last long. Another followed, with Magomedov nearly slipping on his way out. A left then landed for Page as he came up from ducking a punch. Michael Page was certainly proving a puzzle for the undefeated Shara Magomedov; he launched a flying knee at the midway mark of the round, then tied up. This time, however, Magomedov reversed, firing some knees to his opponent’s thigh, inside and out. The crowd, somewhat surprisingly, got a brief “MVP” chant going, before Shara put him back on the fence ever-so-briefly.
With 90 seconds left, Shara Bullet needed to hit the mark on something. He’d go on the attack in the final minute, landing a kick to the body and putting Page under fire. Page took a big swing and a miss. Shara tried to showboat MVP-style, then missed on a nasty looking high kick. Page missed on a jump knee. Clearly both had some gas left in the tank, and Page fired something akin to a cartwheel kick, landed on his back, then launched upkicks before the horn wrapped things up.
No surprise with Page taking the win, serving up the first loss of Shara Bullet’s career. “Look at me. Look at me. I am the captain now,” he exclaimed following the win, quoting a line from the Tom Hanks film Captain Phillips.
🗣️ "Look at me, I am the captain now!" #UFCSaudiArabia
What a performance from @MichaelPage247 🐍#RiyadhSeason | @RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/6DKxT9cNE1
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) February 1, 2025
Official Result: Michael Page def. Shara Magomedov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
