The new UFC star, Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s stance and counter-striking fight style, amazed several fans as he picked up a victory against Kevin Holland at UFC 299. But the UFC community has already started talking about his next fight. Numerous fans currently want him to lock horns with the famed Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, for his next bout. But ‘Venom’ turned a cold shoulder to all such expectations in his recent appearance at Ariel Helwani’s noted podcast, ‘The MMA Hour‘. The London native also gave his take on why he didn’t want to fight ‘Wonderboy’.
Multiple fans and MMA pundits have appreciated Thompson’s striking skills over time. The South Carolina native boats several highlight-reel finishes in his career, showcasing his sharp karate-styled striking. The thoughts of a striking showdown between ‘Venom’ and ‘Wonderboy’ is what had the fans excited about the fight.
But Page highlighted the fact that both he and Thompson are counter-strikers. This would mean that they would sense each other’s movements too well and pull back in time, nullifying each other’s attacks. Hence, Page predicted the fight to be a “terrible” one with low entertainment value. His exact words were,
“What would be a good fight between me and Wonderboy Thompson would look like a terrible fight for everybody else. Because we’ll go back to that auto-pilot and points-scoring system. It will be a lot of ‘not much happening’ in my opinion.”
Still, Thompson can’t be ruled out as one of the probable choices for Page’s next rival. Despite ‘Venom’s’ predictions, Dana White and Co. might make him fight ‘Wonderboy’ if they sense that the encounter will fill their pockets.
But going by Page’s choice will eliminate Thompson as his next rival. The British UFC star may have stated that he doesn’t have any preferred rival for his next fight. But that won’t stop the fans from speculating about his next bout.
Who will Michael Venom Page fight next?
Most fans would happily agree that the noted UFC welterweight, Shavkat Rakhmonov, is one of the strongest title contenders in the UFC’s welterweight division currently. The Kazakhstan native had his last fight against ‘Wonderboy’ only, where he defeated him in the second round.
Now since Page doesn’t want an encounter against Thompson, Dana White and Co. may throw him into a bout against Rakhmonov as well. The Kazakh native fight may be a better rival, in Page’s opinion as well, since their fighting styles are nowhere close. It will also be interesting for the fans to watch if Page’s counter-striking style works against Rakhmonov or not.
