Michael ‘Venom’ Page made an instant impact on UFC fans after his advent in Dana White’s promotion. After winning on his debut, the former Bellator star suffered a narrow defeat in his second fight. Now, Page is heading to Saudi Arabia at UFC Fight Night 250 against Sharaputdin Magomedov. However, that’s not what this article is about today because the focus is on his moniker, ‘Venom’.

With a flashy fighting style, Michael Page established himself as the most popular fighter even before he made his way into the UFC. But why is his nickname ‘Venom’? Well, let’s find out the story behind it.

The origin behind MVP’s nickname ‘Venom’

Michael Page is perhaps one of the only fighters whose name is more often than not pronounced with his nickname. That’s unlike most fighters out there because if we look at Conor McGregor, he is just known by his own name, instead of being called Conor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor. See where we’re going here? ‘Venom’ is almost like a middle name for Page who received the moniker when he was just eight years old.

Michael Page found early exposure to fighting, which could partly be because of his parents, and it was one of his coaches who also happened to be quite close with the family that gave him the moniker. So, he has kept it for himself. It was just that even a young Page was able to strike with so much power that the name was inevitable.

“Yeah easy one, there was a guy like an older brother to me Myron Francis. He used to train at our gym, like our extended family. He would see me as a kid, I was probably around eight or nine,” Michael Page revealed in an interview with Nina Marie-Daniele last year “He would see me hitting other kids and be like for such a skinny guy, the effect on other kids was just ‘ah you got venom’. He just started calling me venom. We were both into Kung Fu movies. A film called ‘The Five Deadly Venoms’, we started making moves for each venom.” 

Clearly, films and fighting had a big influence on the British striker. But it was not where his journey started. But are you wondering about how the former Bellator contender began his journey in the world of mixed martial arts? You’ve come to the right place. Let’s get right into it.

How did Michael ‘Venom’ Page start fighting?

As we’ve mentioned already, Michael ‘Venom’ Page has a family who’ve made their names in martial Artists. While his rise became a little difficult as he moved to a not-so-friendly area of London, his mother still admitted that Page had no choice but to learn and become a fighter. She mentioned how she would take him to MMA classes in a stroller even before he was about a year old. 

Michael ‘Venom’ Page also mentioned how MMA may just have saved his life when he moved to Little Mexico, a place notorious for drug-related activities. Now, he’s come far from that family gym and Little Mexico. ‘Venom’ genuinely felt like a star as he entered the UFC’s Octagon against Kevin Holland, but things went a bit downhill against Ian Garry. So the question is – will he be able to make an impact as a middleweight? That remains to be seen.

Nonetheless, let us know what are your thoughts on Page’s nickname. Would you have given him some other monikers? Share your thoughts in the comments down below.