Michael “Venom” Page says leaving the UFC has set him free.
Page signed a multi-fight deal with Misfits Boxing on Saturday, announcing the move in the ring at the promotion’s event in London. The signing came about five weeks after the UFC chose not to re-sign him.
Page told The Stomping Ground that the deal came together fast.
To be fair, this one happened relatively quickly. We kind of didn’t know as recent as three or four days back, it still wasn’t 100 percent confirmed where we’re going. But yeah, this makes sense.
Like I said out there, I feel free of the shackles. I’m a very creative person, my walkouts, my entrances, my exits, and I wasn’t allowed to do that. And I feel like here, they’re literally like, ‘Look, we want you to be yourself.’ That’s going to help me be my best self.
The 39-year-old went 5-1 in the UFC. He closed his run with a decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris in September. His only UFC loss came against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 in June 2024.
Page said the UFC left big fights on the table.
For me, it’s a shame. I just feel like there’s so much more the UFC could be doing for fighters. Regardless, whether you like them, hate them, they are the biggest combat show in terms of MMA. So you have to value them, there’s some ridiculously talented fighters.
But I went in there, and I was top-10 in two divisions, I was calling out everybody, wasn’t getting any feedback. Again, [I] felt very restricted, so it’s a shame because I felt like there was more fights, big fights that could be had. But here, I feel free.
Page broke into the middleweight top 10 after beating Jared Cannonier at UFC 319. He entered the welterweight rankings at No. 13 but did not crack the top 10 there.
Page is 26-3 in MMA and 2-0 as a pro boxer. Misfits has not announced his first opponent.
