Athletes
Michael ‘Venom’ Page | Still Dangerous
London's Octagon Showman Returns To His Optimal Weight Class With Plans To Remind The World About 'The One And Only MVP'.
Michael "Venom" Page is back at welterweight and ready to deliver a timely reminder of what he can bring to the Octagon.
With suitably ranked opponents seemingly unwilling to sign on the dotted line, London's Page dabbled with the middleweight division in 2025, scoring decision victories over Shara "Bullet" Magomedov and former title challenger Jared Cannonier. But now "MVP" is moving back to his natural weight class as the Octagon lands in his hometown.
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Page will take on fellow Englishman Sam Patterson in a welterweight main card matchup at The O2 Arena in London on Saturday night, and he said that, weight cut aside, he's happy to be back at 170 pounds.
"I think, because my body has now gotten a bit more used to holding a lot more weight, it feels like I've just taken a weight jacket off, and I'm just now feeling really, really fast and strong. So I definitely feel good. But yeah, no one likes the weight cut!"
Saturday night will be Page's first fight at welterweight since his decision loss to Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 back in June 2024, though it's not for the lack of trying on his part. It forced him to jump up to 185 pounds to stay sharp, and his wins over Magomedov and Cannonier showed that he can be equally as effective as a middleweight. But welterweight is where he's spent his career, and the lack of willing dance partners in his own weight class has been hard to stomach.
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"That process has been very, very frustrating," he admitted. "And even coming back, not necessarily getting the level of opponent you want, terms of status, more than anything, or ranking, (it's) still frustrating.
"I know how difficult Sam's gonna be as a fighter. I know how talented he is as a fighter, so not taking anything away from him, it's just more of where I've been, who I've been competing against. I kind of want those (high) caliber names to continue. So yeah, it's been frustrating, but this is where we are, and I'm a guy like, once I've got over the frustrations (and) voiced it, I'm like, OK, I'm ready to get the show going."
On paper, it's a fascinating matchup between a seasoned, but uniquely-skilled, vet and a surging prospect who is in the best form of his career. But in real life, it's a matchup that left Page scratching his head a little when it was offered to him, not least of all because they have trained together in the past.
Two English welterweights on home soil 🏴@MichaelPage247 vs Sam Patterson
— UFC (@ufc) March 17, 2026
[ #UFCLondon | MAR 21 | 4pmET on @ParamountPlus ] pic.twitter.com/cchA0iFYbX
"There was only a couple of people that, from what I've been told, even said yes," Page explained. "And then Sam contacted me, because we chat, and he was like, 'I just got offered an opponent, and it's you!' And I was like, 'Huh, how does that make sense?' He's like, 'Yeah, I told them that, you know, we've trained together, I'd prefer to have it as someone I could just train with...'
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"We're not from the same team, but we train together, and it just seemed like UFC are more adamant to make it happen from both sides. So I contacted him, and I was like, 'Let's just put on a good show.' It's all love and respect anyway. And I know it can happen. It's happened for me in the kickboxing world many a time – I used to travel the world with people I used to have to fight against. So I'm accustomed to it in that space, just not as much in this space. So it's annoying, but it is what is."
The fact that the pair have trained and sparred together brings an added dynamic to their matchup, and Page admits that Patterson can step into the Octagon on fight night free of pressure. But the London Shootfighters man said that his fighting style has proved effective at shutting down his opponents' game plans in the past, and he expects to have similar success again here.
"It's difficult, because we are familiar with each other," he said. "Literally, for my first three fights in the UFC, I was training regularly with him because I needed somebody tall who could strike. So he's going to be confident in that aspect.
"He's also going to be confident in the fact that he has nothing to lose. He's not the one that's supposed to come out on top in this scenario, which sometimes leaves you like, 'I can throw the kitchen sink at you because, you know, I got nothing to lose here.' And then, there's his current success within the UFC, as well, nothing to lose here. So there's a lot of positives on his side.
"It's just very hard to get over the style in front of you. When it comes to my style, it's very hard to not have your body respond in the way that everybody responds. As you say, they kind of freeze or get a bit stuck, or just start watching what's going on in front of them. So it's very difficult for anybody, even though he's familiar with me, to get past that. So based on the way I feel, I'm hoping that is what is going to outshine anything that he has, or any confidence that he has on his side, that's going to kill it."
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Remarkably, for a fighter whose reputation was built on a spectacular highlight reel, Page is still hunting his first finish in the UFC. With the 38-year-old looking to get back to fighting top-ranked opposition, a stoppage win in London this weekend would be very timely indeed. But, more importantly, it would serve as a helpful reminder that he's still among the most dangerous 170-pound fighters on the planet.
"I guess I feel like it's just going to mean more to maybe the company, because in my head, I feel like that's maybe the only thing that they feel like they haven't got from me yet," he suggested. "I'm entertaining when I go out there. I've had some good wins. I haven't had the finish that I'm known for. When they approached me to join the UFC, it's because they wanted those explosive wins. So I guess for the UFC, it's going to mean like, 'OK, yeah, he's still got it.'"
Ultimately, Page is a showman, and he gets to return to his stage on Saturday night, where he plans on letting those who forgot know just what he can do in a set of four-ounce gloves.
"I think every single time I get in the cage, it's a reminder of what I'm capable of," he said. "So yeah, in terms of going back to the welterweight division, it's just to remind everybody there that, yeah, I am still that guy, still dangerous."
UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs Murphy took place live from The O2 in London, England On March 21, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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