“Venom” is the perfect nickname for UFC fighter Michael Page when you look at his fighting style.
Page is a snake inside the octagon, crawling with technical precision and bewildering opponents with quick strikes before most can react. In some cases, the venom is so strong that the match ends in a knockout.
If you want to call it unconventional, lazy, or even cheating when you see Page looking away from his opponent, who at times seemingly literally dances in front of him. Dubbed “MVP,” he has an overall record of 22 wins and 2 losses in MMA, coming off his first career win in the UFC against Kevin Holland earlier this month.
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England’s Michael “Venom” Page poses for a portrait after winning during the UFC 299 event at Caseya Center in Miami on March 9, 2024. (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
So while unconventional, Page’s fighting style works.
“I would say I’m unique because I’m just going to break the mold. I’m going to do things that people do in video games and movies and things like that,” Page told FOX News Digital in New York. He said with a smile.
Page boasts 13 knockouts in his MMA career, but UFC fans may not have known him until he entered the Octagon at Caseya Center in Miami. There he defeated the veteran Holland by unanimous decision. But his fighting style has generated a lot of buzz on social media, something he’s become accustomed to after competing on the Bellator circuit for years.
When asked if Page’s fighting style was derived from freestyle kickboxing, he smiled before replying emphatically.
“Oh, yeah,” he said with a laugh.
In a sport that is usually about winning the fight, but more importantly, protecting, Page’s shoulders are shaking, his feet are moving, and his hands are usually down.
He’s sparred with numerous UFC fighters over the years and they all say the same thing after seeing it in the Octagon.
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“I sparred with a lot of guys from the UFC,” he said. “I don’t want to say their names, but there’s a lot of guys I’ve sparred with and a lot of them were like, ‘Damn, I don’t want to fight you.’ ‘No, they’re all at my weight. There are some people who are two classes above me, and they’re all like, ‘That’s terrible to deal with.’
Paige hears it all too.
“That’s the funniest thing I’d say,” Page replied. “Then he came out and said, ‘It’s like chasing a pack of potato chips in the wind.'” He said that, and it was very funny, though. , he really thought this was annoying. ”
Page has said in the past that his fighting style is one of the things people in the fighting world hate seeing on fight night. But every MMA fighter knows that not everyone will like you. That’s the beauty of this sport.
England’s Michael “Venom” Page reacts after defeating Kevin Holland in a welterweight bout during the UFC 299 event on March 9, 2024 at Caseya Center in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Someone is a hero and someone is also a villain. Page, who is new to the UFC, isn’t concerned about what role he will take on.
“That’s what’s interesting about my style,” he said. “It not only frustrates my opponents, but it frustrates a lot of people on the outside, for better or worse. It evokes certain emotions. People look at it and think, ‘That’s great.’ But other people look at it and think, “That’s rubbish.” “But then again, it becomes a topic. If it’s so obvious that everyone likes you or everyone hates you, people tend to be conversational. I hope that. It just ignites a lot of things in people.”
To understand Page’s style, you need to understand not only his background as a fighter, but also his family’s heritage. Freestyle His kickboxing is something his entire family (Page is one of his nine) is deeply involved in.
Learning from his father, a kickboxing instructor, and on his way to winning 10 world titles in the sport, Page knew he had a flare from the start.
“Even in that world, I had my own flare, my own style, and it was just a stylish fighting style,” Page said. “It’s like I put my own variation on it. I love dancing, and I incorporate my culture as well. I just incorporate that into my style. It’s a whirlwind of entertainment.”
The culture he spoke of is the Caribbean culture. His father is from Trinidad and his mother is from Jamaica. He said he listens to a lot of soca, an island genre indigenous to Trinidad, and that’s one genre he’s always danced to, he said. That dancing didn’t stop when he entered the kickboxing ring, or later the Octagon.
Perhaps the biggest misconception when people see his unconventional style is that it comes without effort.
England’s Michael “Venom” Page reacts after defeating Kevin Holland in a welterweight bout during the UFC 299 event on March 9, 2024 at Caseya Center in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“I always think, ‘Oh, he has a natural talent,’ and it’s like, no, I’m destroying myself every day,” he said. “Every day feels like shit. You still have to get up and go back to the gym and you’ve got a broken foot, a broken elbow, this and that. I think that’s because we’re not the team we want to promote. .I think that’s why people don’t do that.”But my style really makes people think, “Oh, no, he just figured it out.”
“It’s been years of hard work. It’s really the effort I put into making it look so effortless in that style.”
Now 36 years old, Page’s MMA journey has finally brought him to the sport’s biggest stage in the world, and he’s already made a clear impression. He hopes to play two more fights this year and hopes one of them will be in England.
No matter where he is, Page is ready to show off a fighting style that may upset people, but even people can’t deny how entertaining it is.
“Training is not a fun process, so this moment is what I really enjoy,” Page said of going through rigorous training and competing. “…It’s the only time I get to enjoy being myself, so I’m always going to enjoy it to the fullest.
England’s Michael “Venom” Page prepares to face Kevin Holland in a welterweight bout during the UFC 299 event on March 9, 2024 at Caseya Center in Miami. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
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“This is why I’m smiling, this is why I’m dancing, this is why I come across as cocky, because for the first time I’m not in pain and just enjoying the fruits of my labor. ”
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