Tonight, Michael ‘Venom’ Page secured his fifth UFC victory in six fights by defeating Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris. It was Page’s final fight under his current UFC contract, and many expected the Englishman to put on a show for the Paris crowd. However, despite getting his hand raised, his latest outing once again fell short of expectations.
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Disappointed with his performance, the 39-year-old former Bellator fighter admitted that he needs to go back to the drawing board and make tweaks to his fighting style to recapture the excitement that once defined his performances.
“The frustrating thing is, I feel great, which sometimes means I haven’t done enough, and the results show that I haven’t done enough,” Page said during his UFC Paris backstage interview. “I probably need to push myself a little more and take a few more risks. Sometimes I just want to be too clean, too precise. I know there’s more, but it’s frustrating because I get there. When I get to the cage, sometimes I feel like I’m holding back. I want to give more.
“There’s not one person that can stand in there with me. But then again, there are too many people that can survive with me. That’s the problem. That’s what I need to change. My output needs to change. I need to, like I said, take a few more risks. Not a few, a lot more risks. I got up from him taking me down. I should’ve just done that because the most he was going to do was take me down again, then I get back up. I might have to adapt my style a little bit more.”
After another underwhelming performance, the UFC could very well think seriously about axing Michael Page from its roster. However, with his current contract now complete, the Westminster native is hoping the promotion gives him another opportunity to prove that he can still deliver the highlight-reel performances that made him a star in Bellator.
“I can maybe adapt to it so people can feel a little bit more comfortable coming forward,” he added. “But that might also make me slightly less dangerous. Maybe over volume, I’ll still get it. So yeah, I’ve gotta go back to the drawing board. I don’t know the exact answer yet. I’m testing it out when I’m sparring people. Let’s see what happens.”
This is a developing story…