‘MVP’ has three top welterweights in mind for his next fight, and is prepared to turn around in time for a July date in Manchester.
After seeing Michael “Venom” Page’s entertaining and dominating promotional debut at UFC 299, mixed martial arts fans are eager for more … and “MVP” is eager to give that to them.
Page dispatched the tough but stylistically favorable Kevin Holland in a one-sided decision, proving he could deliver his trademark flashy kicks, spinning attacks, and in-cage tomfoolery even against top UFC competition. The win earned him a No. 13 ranking at welterweight, so what’s next for the charismatic Brit?
“There are talks of me coming back for the U.K.,” Page said in an interview with Shak MMA. “The show is in Manchester. That’s July, I believe. I think that’s plenty of time for me to come back. Obviously, I have to figure out an opponent and so on.”
“I’m still away on holidays. I need to get back and speak to my coaches properly. We have to navigate what we think and speak to the UFC. There’s a big process that goes into it. But if I could get on July, come out relatively unscathed again and jump in again in September, that would be a very happy year for me.”
Even on vacation, “MVP” has been thinking about his next opponent. After dismissing the possibility of a karate showdown with Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, Page now has a list of fighters he’d match up well with.
“The likes of Ian Garry would be a fun fight, I guess,” he said. “Stylistically, the likeliness is it’s going to be quite explosive on the feet. [Vicente] Luque is another good fight. He’s a very explosive guy. A very powerful guy on his feet as well. That’s a good fight.”
Then there’s Jack Della Maddalena, who fought just before “Venom” at UFC 299. “J.Della” knocked out Gilbert Burns in a thrilling back and forth war of attrition.
Venom Page emoting after dropping Kevin Holland
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“I’ve seen him before but I was very, very impressed with how he dealt with such an amazing fighter in Gilbert Burns,” Page said. “The scrambles he did. There were a couple of things I felt Gilbert did wrong. He made a few silly mistakes. But [Della Maddalena] looked so good. He seems like a hard person to kill in all positions. He’s definitely a dangerous opponent. Another exciting fight.”
Della Maddalena also happens to hold the No. 5 spot at welterweight, making him the highest ranked opponent Page has called out. But in Page’s mind, rankings don’t matter and more entertaining wins could leapfrog him into a title fight at any moment.
“I’m not a person who pays attention to the rankings, the rankings don’t mean anything,” he said. “If I make enough noise, I can get a title fight being ranked 50th, it wouldn’t mean anything.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a fun conversation for a lot of people on the outside. It keeps people talking, so I get why there is rankings. But for me personally, I don’t care. I just keep doing me, I keep entertaining, people are going to want me and push the organization to get me to those big fights.”