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“Venom” is the perfect nickname for UFC fighter Michael Page when looking at his fighting style.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Page is like a snake in the octagon \u2013 slithering around with technical precision, and before most can react, he is making a quick strike to bewilder his opponent. In some cases, the venom is too strong and the fight ends via knockout.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Call it unorthodox, lackadaisical, or even malpractice if you wish, after seeing Page look away from his opponent while seemingly, and sometimes literally, dancing in front of them. “MVP,” as he is called, owns a 22-2 career record in MMA, and he is coming off his first career UFC victory earlier this month against Kevin Holland.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Michael “Venom” Page of England poses for a portrait after his victory during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami.<\/span> (Mike Roach\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSo, while unconventional, Page’s fighting style works.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I would say unique because I\u2019m willing to just break the mold. To do things that people do on video games and movies and s—,” Page said smiling in New York while speaking with Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While Page has 13 knockouts in his MMA career, UFC fans may not have heard of him before entering the octagon in Kaseya Center in Miami, where he won by unanimous decision over the veteran Holland. However, his fighting style sparked tons of conversation on social media, something he is used to over the years of fighting on the Bellator circuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When asked if Page’s fighting style, which stems from freestyle kickboxing, he smiled before giving an emphatic answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Oh, yes,” he said while laughing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a sport where fundamentals are usually preached to not only win fights, but more importantly, protection, Page’s hands are usually down, while his shoulders are shimmying and his feet are moving around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He has sparred with numerous UFC fighters over the years, and they all say the same thing when they see that in the octagon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
UFC FIGHTER RECEIVES MASSIVE BONUS AFTER GETTING BITTEN DURING BOUT<\/strong><\/p>\n“I spar a lot of these guys from the UFC,” he said. “I don\u2019t like to name these guys, but there\u2019s a load of guys I\u2019ve sparred and a lot of them are like, \u2018Damn, I wouldn\u2019t want to fight you.\u2019 No all of them are my weight. Some of them are two divisions above me, and they\u2019re all like, \u2018That\u2019s horrible to deal with.\u2019”<\/p>\n
Page has heard it all, too.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019d say the funniest thing,” Page responded. “He came out afterwards, and he\u2019s like, \u2018That\u2019s like chasing a packet of crisps in the wind.\u2019 He said it, and it was quite funny, but he was genuinely like this is annoying.”<\/p>\n
Page has talked in the past about how his fighting style is one a part of the fighting community hates to see on Fight Night. However, any MMA fighter knows that not everyone is going to love them \u2013 that is the beauty of the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Michael “Venom” Page of England reacts after his victory against Kevin Holland in a welterweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami.<\/span> (Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSomeone is the hero, but also someone is the villain. As a newbie in the UFC, Page does not mind what role he plays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s the interesting thing about my style,” he said. “Not only does it frustrates my opponents, it frustrates a lot of people outside, good and bad. It sparks a certain emotion. People watch and they\u2019re like, \u2018That\u2019s amazing,\u2019 and other people watch it like, \u2018That\u2019s rubbish.\u2019 But again, it becomes a talking point. If it was too obvious that everybody likes you, or everybody hates you \u2013 you want people to be conversive. It just ignites a lot in people.”<\/p>\n
To understand Page’s style, you need to understand not just his fighting background, but his family’s heritage as well. Freestyle kickboxing is something his entire family \u2013 Page is one of nine \u2013 is heavily involved with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the road to learning from his father, a kickboxing instructor, and winning 10 world titles in the sport, Page knew he had flare from the start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Even in that world, I had my own flare, my own style and it\u2019s a stylish combat style anyway,” Page said. “I kinda added my own variation to it. I love to dance, my own culture, I just put into my style as well. It\u2019s a whirlwind of entertainment.”<\/p>\n
The culture he spoke of is that of the Caribbean. His father is from Trinidad, and his mother hails from Jamaica. He said he listens to a lot of Soca, an island genre native to Trinidad, among other genres that always kept him dancing. That dance did not stop when he entered a kickboxing ring, or later in life, the octagon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest misconception about his unconventional style when people see it is that it comes without the hard work.<\/p>\n
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Michael “Venom” Page of England reacts after his victory against Kevin Holland in a welterweight fight during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 9, 2024 in Miami.<\/span> (Chris Unger\/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n“I always get that kinda like, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s just naturally gifted.\u2019 It\u2019s like, no, I bust my a– every single day,” he said. “Feel like crap every single day. Still have to get back up and go back into the gym with my foot busted and elbow busted, this and that. It\u2019s just not a side we care to promote, I guess, so people don\u2019t see it. But my style makes people genuinely think, \u2018Oh no, he just got that.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s been many years of hard work. The actual effort I\u2019ve put in to actually make it look that easy in that style.”<\/p>\n
At 36 years old now, Page’s MMA journey has finally brought him to the world’s biggest stage in the sport, and he is already making a clear impression. He is hoping to have two more fights this year, one of which he hopes to be in the United Kingdom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No matter the location, Page is ready to bring his fighting style that may upset people, but even they cannot deny how entertaining it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s in that moment where I get to actually enjoy myself because training is not an enjoyable process,” Page said about getting to fight after rigorous training. “\u2026 That\u2019s the only time I get to enjoy it and be myself, so I\u2019m always going to enjoy it to the max.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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