Chicago — UFC 319 sees Michael “Venom” Page entering his second straight middleweight contest, facing Jared Cannonier one fight on from becoming the first man to defeat Shara Bullet in MMA.
It was not, to hear Page (23-3) tell it, the plan, with the fight against Shara initially seen as an interesting clash of styles more than a full-time move to 185lbs.
“100% I assumed it was going to be back at 170. I voiced that, I wanted this as a one-off,” said Page during Wednesday’s UFC 319 media day, speaking with Cageside Press and other media outlets. “It’s seeming more and more that it’s going to be more than even this fight now, potentially. It seems that there’s just more opportunities, welterweight seems to be congested, and I want to be active. If there are fights, I’m always willing to go back down. It’s nothing to do with weight or anything, I can make whatever weight I need to.”
“I do see there’s a lot of opportunities and hungry fighters at the middleweight division.”
Not having to cut an extra 15 pounds also makes it easier for MVP to stay active, though he noted he comes from a competition background anyway. “It’s not the weight that stops me from performing, it’s the opportunities to take a fight. I like to be active, and it seems like middleweight will allow me to be more active.”
Page admitted that he wasn’t planning on taking another fight at middleweight immediately, and he may have to consider changing his approach moving forward. He still feels like a welterweight who just isn’t cutting weight, for one thing. And Jared Cannonier is a powerful 185’er.
Cannonier has promised to bring pressure in the fight with MVP, and that’s exactly what Page is expecting in the fight. “There’ll just be a lot of oncoming traffic. It’s up to you if you want to run down that road while this car’s flying at you, and how long before you are permanently knocked over? We’ll see. I do believe he’ll try to do that until it doesn’t work.”
“I turn a lot of people into wrestlers,” Page added. “And though he can wrestle, I’ve seen him wrestle before, that’s never his first point to go to. But I definitely see him trying to adopt more of the wrestling element.”
As to how his power translates at 185lbs, Michael Page was blunt. “It doesn’t,” he admitted. “Them guys is tougher than a mother- it just means I have to be way more, and I’ve spoken about this as well, I have to have way more output in comparison to welterweight.”
“Welterweight, I’m a sniper. I’m waiting for that right moment, and then I land my shot. Wait for the right moment, land my shot. Whereas in the middleweight division, I have to be a bit more aggressive, on that front foot, landing combinations, and then come back out. Combinations, and then come back out, versus just the one shot, and hope to kill these guys. because again, they are more the natural, especially Jared coming from heavyweight, but they are more the natural middleweights.”
All that said, Page admits his heart is still at welterweight. “I just feel like that’s the division and fights that I want.”
Watch the full UFC 319 media day appearance by Michael Page above. The card takes place this Saturday, August 16, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, IL.
