There’s little question that Michael “Venom” Page was taken aback by his latest UFC booking.
Page, one of the more successful stars to cross over from Bellator as that promotion met its demise, is 3-1 under the UFC banner, including a win over formidable middleweight Shara Bullet. It’s back to welterweight this Saturday however, with MVP booked against the little-known Sam Patterson.
Page has publicly questioned the booking, which he acknowledged during this week’s UFC London media day. It’s hard to blame him: with respect to the main event, which is key for the featherweight division, he might be the biggest draw on the card.
“A fight is a fight. He’s still a dangerous opponent. I respect him, I’ve always spoken about how highly I rate him,” stated Page (24-3) this week. “It was more just the status-level that I was looking for, more just a type of fight that makes everybody go crazy.”
“At the same time, I’m locked in, man. He’s the person that has signed the contract, and was brave enough to sign the contract, and I’m locked in to put on a big show,” he continued.
Not getting a co-main event slot (that went to Luke Riley, 1-0 in the UFC) also seemed to ruffle Page’s feathers. Especially being a veteran British fighter competing at home. In response, Page brought back a line from his Bellator days.
“It’s obviously part of the frustrations initially, but I used to say the same thing in Bellator. And it’s no matter where you put me on the card, I am the main event.”
Juggling middleweight and welterweight has left MVP somewhat in limbo in his UFC career, but if it works, and if it’s necessary, he’ll keep at it.
“To be fair I seem to be capable of just going anywhere. As long as people can get me some good fights, I kind of want to go there. It seems to be a struggle at welterweight, but my goal is the welterweight title,” stated Page. “If the guys here continue to not want to fight me, then I might have to go back up again and look at the middleweight belt.”
As far as Patterson, Page allowed that he has “very unique submissions that he’s able to catch from quite unique places. I’ve got to be very, very aware of that, very on point.” That said, Page is “focusing on being the best me on the night.”
Watch the full UFC London media day appearance by Michael Page above.
