UFC fans have jumped to the defense of Michael ‘Venom’ Page after this striker seemed to catch a stray shot from current champion, Julianna Pena on the looks department.
Pena, the current undisputed bantamweight queen, is lining up for a potential summer return against Kayla Harrison, who has been tipped to topple her with ease in her first title tilt in the UFC.
However, Pena has managed to hit the headlines this week regardless. Issuing her list of some of the better-looking fighters on the roster, Pena’s claims proved polarizing as she seemed to make a sly dig aimed at Page.
At first, Pena explained why looks mattered, even for fighters. Elaborating on the fact that the UFC was a business that needed its assets to sell, she said, “I don’t want to say play up that sexiness, but they’re not going to shy away from that sexiness as far as promoting goes. So, whether it’s male or female, I think that in society, you get treated better if you’re better-looking.”
And right after delivering what seemed like a sermon, she went down to business.
“Carlos Ulberg is the hottest guy in the UFC,” she asserted on the Overdogs Podcast. “And then you got people like, you know, (Nasourdine) Imavov. He’s so cute too. Or you got the Michael Venom Page. You know, obviously, it’s because of his fighting skills. Let’s not forget about that,” she added to many a fan’s offense.
“Why is my king MVP catching strays,” A user on Twitter asked. Another then claimed Page should “shoot his shot” and ask out Pena, bizarrely.
If I’m MVP I’m ignoring the stray. And taking this as an invite to slide,” stated another user, who completely seemed to have misread the situation.
If I’m MVP I’m ignoring the stray and taking this as an invite to slide
— Tres Comas (@3res_Comas) March 21, 2025
Unfortunately, Ulberg too took some strays in his crossfire. “Ulberg literally looks like Steve from Minecraft“, a UFC viewer said.
In the meantime, Page remains unbothered by Pena’s remarks and plans another change in weight class – potentially to the division of Pena’s list-topper, Ulberg.
Page weighs up light heavyweight move
Making a brief middleweight excursion last month, Page handed the unbeaten, Shara Magomedov his first professional loss with relative ease.
Furthermore, having performed well a division higher, the London Shootfighters staple has now weighed up a light heavyweight charge. And it’s not just an unplanned potential leap; Page has been linked with a tussle against ex-champion, Jiri Prochazka of note.
Welcoming the chance to take on fellow dynamic striker, Prochazka, Page said the pairing would be more than “exciting” for eagle-eyed fans in the octagon.
“I’m the kind of person that would move up another division and fight someone like Jiri (Prochazka),” Page said after UFC Saudi Arabia. “Because it’s an exciting fight. [The most spins ever?] Yeah, the most spins – like two tornadoes clashing.”, he added.
“I’ve said it from the beginning that I want to make a lot of noise. I haven’t got the highlight that I’ve wanted just yet,” he pointed out.
Explaining that it’s the thrill of the hunt that excites him enough to move weight classes, he surmised – “But if I can keep getting these exciting matchups then why not?”
Well, Page certainly went down in weight to fight Ian Garry at UFC 303 last year, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him keep moving up and down. While it does hamper his chances of winning a world title, his counter-attacking style of fighting does allow for a lot of concessions; a luxury that his peers might not have.
