Michael ‘Venom’ Page is not in danger. He is the danger.
Page returns to the Octagon on February 1 when the UFC heads back to Saudia Arabia for the first time in 2025. Standing across from him inside the cage at ANB Arena in Riyadh will be undefeated Russian sensation Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov.
Even before their fight was booked, Magomedov suggested that his background in Lethwei would make him far more dangerous than ‘MVP’ who often deploys a distinct kickboxing style that emphasizes speed and distance over knockouts.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Page isn’t capable of landing some skull-cracking shots. Just ask Evangelistica ‘Cyborg’ Santos.
“I’ve seen a lot of people kind of belittle where I come from because the emphasis from the style I was in before wasn’t on power, and that’s the difference,” Page told MMA Junkie. “I think a lot of people, when it comes to combat sports, they get blood thirst, and they want it to be about the power and knocking people out, where my kickboxing style gave me a very unique skill of distancing and timing.
“Just ability to move, the speed element, it gave me different attributes because it wasn’t so focused on power, and people underestimate that. Speed is power. Speed kills, and since crossing over from this so-called semi-contact world, I’ve had some devastating victories and devastating damaging shots. He’s trying to belittle it, but he seemed very respectful, and he definitely knows the danger that awaits him in a few weeks.”
‘Venom’ expects Magomedov to Lean on his grappling
Just as was the case with Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303, ‘Venom’ believes Magomedov will grow frustrated trying to strike with him, pushing the Russian to lean on his grappling game.
“Ian Garry said the same thing,” Page said. “He believes he was a better striker than me, he believes he was faster than me, he believes he hit harder than me. That wasn’t the case. I’ve seen many opponents beforehand, again, belittle – because I think my style is a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing in the sense that it’s very entertaining to watch, but at the same time a lot of people can underestimate it simply because sometimes I make it look too easy. So, people feel like, ‘Yeah, he’s just better than that guy, but if I was in front of him, I’d continue doing this.’
“But, when I’m in front of them and they don’t understand the timing, the rhythm, the speed. They’re throwing shots, they can’t land anything, then they start resorting to all other actions that they may not normally take. I do believe he’s confident in his ability because he’s an undefeated fighter, very successful in his style that’s he’s done so far so, that kind of journey will make him more stubborn even when things are going wrong.
“So, I do believe he will stay there a little bit longer, but again, I’ve brought it out of so many people. I can also still see me frustrating Shara enough to still want to grab me. Just to keep me there for a second.”
Page goes into his third appearance with the promotion sporting a professional record of 22-3 with 12 of his wins coming by way of knockout and another four via submission.
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