The UFC has maintained its status as the world leader in MMA by constantly adding new talent to its roster. As the UFC has expanded, the promotion has been able to add talent from all over the world to its roster. The UFC typically signs lesser known fighters and develops them into stars. However, the promotion has made a few marquee signings in the past few months. One such signing made by the UFC is former Bellator star, Michael ‘Venom’ Page. Ahead of his debut, Page shared the story behind his nickname, ‘Venom’. Page sat down for an interview with Nina Drama posted on March 6, 2024.
During the interview, Drama asked Page about the origins of his monicker, ‘Venom’. The 36-year-old replied saying,
“Yeah easy one, there was a guy like an older brother to me Myron Francis. He used to train at our gym, like our extended family. He would see me as a kid, I was probably around eight or nine. He would see me hitting other kids and be like for such a skinny guy, the effect on other kids was just ‘ah you got venom’. He just started calling me venom. We were both into Kung Fu movies. A film called the five deadly venoms, we started making moves for each venom.”
In the interview, Page explained how the love for Kung Fu movies and his ability to hit hard earned him the nickname of ‘Venom’. Needless to say, Page has lived up to the monicker by being an extremely scary finisher in MMA. Page’s long time promotion, Bellator MMA, was recently put on sale by the parent company, following which it was acquired by rival MMA promotion PFL. Following the sale, the UFC approached Page and ultimately ended up signing him with the promotion.
A closer look at UFC newcomer Michael ‘Venom’ Page
‘Venom’ enters the UFC with a record of 21-2. Of the 21 wins Page has in his professional MMA career, 62% or 13 fights have ended in a T/KO. A further three fights have ended with submission wins for the British MMA fighter. A mere five fights have gone the distance for Page. He enters the UFC with the hopes of becoming a champion, a feat he could never achieve at Bellator.
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Page lost the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix Semi-final bout, against Douglas Lima in 2019. In 2022 at Bellator 281, Logan Storley stopped Page in the fifth round while fighting for the interim welterweight belt. These are the two occasions where Page has come closest to championship gold. Page will take on Kevin Holland on his debut at UFC 299.
