UFC welterweight contender Michael “Venom” Page is willing to move up in weight for a striking battle with Shara Magomedov.
Magomedov was among the biggest winners to emerge from this past weekend’s UFC 308 pay-per-view in Abu Dhabi, where he opened the main card against a fellow striking specialist in Armen Petrosyan.
After a competitive first round, “Bullet” produced an incredible highlight in the second, unloading a spinning double backfist to drop his Armenian counterpart for the knockout win.
The result moved Magomedov to 4-0 in the UFC, marked his third win since June, and paved the way for entry into the middleweight rankings at #14.
In the aftermath, the Dagestani made his plans to keep climbing the ladder clear with an ambitious callout of former two-time champion Israel Adesanya. Having not received a positive response, though, he may need to search elsewhere for his next challenge.
He might not have to look far, however.
One notable name has thrown their name into the hat, with longtime 170-pounder “MVP” offering to share the cage with Magomedov up at 185 pounds.
“Magomedov — he just fought, did the double spinning back [fist] knockout and then he called out my boy Izzy,” Page told MMA Fighting’s Mike Heck. “Mate, I’m at that weight right now. You don’t even have to wait too long. That one there, I’ll just take straight away just for the fun of it.
“I’m in shape now, ready to go. So that’s a good fight for me, I think. Just a nice stand up fight for everybody, just to come back to the game,” Page continued. “And like I said, leave my boy Izzy alone. He’s trying to get back to the belt, to the throne, so I’ll take his place.”
Page has gone 1-1 in his debut year competing under the UFC banner. Following his Bellator departure, the Brit got off to a strong start inside the Octagon by outpointing Kevin Holland at UFC 299 in Miami this past March.
But his charge toward title contention was narrowly stalled by Ian Garry when they met at UFC 303 during June’s International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
While “Venom” is currently without an opponent for his UFC return, he is keeping busy with a grappling match opposite former interim UFC champion Carlos Condit at Polaris 30 in London this weekend.
