Michael “Venom” Page has a new sports competition home.
The former UFC and Warrior contender has signed a “multi-fight, multi-year deal” with Misfits Boxing, Page announced Saturday at the Joey Essex vs. Dapper Laughs event in London. Page joins the organization — which offers a team of celebrity careers, influencer events and fighting sports odds — following a successful but ultimately divisive run that saw him go 5-1 in the UFC and exit the promotion on a four-fight winning streak.
Advertisement
“I feel free. That’s all I can say, I feel free,” Page said in the ring Saturday.
“The shackles are gone, and now, brother” [Misfits co-founder] KSI [Misfits co-founder] Mother [Taylor]The Misfits team — oh, I have some great memories here, some great moments. Important moments. And I want all the smoke, all the smoke, every name of the book, I’m here for it. Because the one and only ‘MVP’ is the backup.
“A lot of people wanted him,” KSI added, and it shows how big it is for us that he’s coming to Misfits, that he’s coming to MF Sport, that he’s coming to our house.
Crowned Ariel Helwani announced on Saturday that Page’s deal with the Misfits is a gamble that still allows him to compete with other wrestlers in wrestling.
Neither Page (26-3 MMA) nor KSI have indicated whether the 39-year-old Londoner plans to compete in boxing, MMA or both for the promotion.
Advertisement
Page’s UFC contract expired in September following fourteen decisions over Shara “Bullet” Magomedov, Jared Cannonier, Sam Patterson and Nursulton Ruziboev. Page expressed interest in re-signing the promotion, however UFC officials ultimately opted not to offer him much new.
Page admitted to Uncrowned in the days following that he was disrespected by the way his UFC run came to an ugly end.
“I had goals to achieve, regardless of the reason, I was winning my battles, which tells me to stay,” Page said on the “Ariel Helwani Show”. “That’s the purpose of this game. Success should create more chances. So I still felt like we were sitting at the table.
‘What I felt was going to happen as I wanted,’ Behold, we can re-sign but it will be much less. [money]and from there we work. But I didn’t expect to be treated like that. Let those who are found despise it, to be fair.”
Advertisement
Known for his theatrics and flashy fighting style, Page has been the author of some of the most viral MMA knockouts over the past decade, most notably with his brutal flying knee strike to Evangelista Santos in Bellator, which left Santos with a fractured skull. But his finishing instincts also seemed to decline throughout the UFC run, as Page often came under fire for lukewarm performances and a lack of aggression, which ultimately played a role in the UFC’s lack of user retention for his services.
The page said that after being crowned in September, he felt some mental “blockages” that he hoped to overcome in order to produce more vintage shows.
Advertisement
“I know what I’m capable of, and I don’t know what it is for some reason, like I feel like I don’t push myself enough in my fights,” Page said. “It’s strange to say, because I like fights and I’m not at my best. It’s really a shame that I couldn’t show my best, and yet I’m still fighting those who are at the top of the game.
“The second fight I realized I was carrying weight and I wasn’t. It was a case of figuring out how not to do it when I go into these fights. How not to fixate on performing the way I used to and just enjoying it.”