Michael ‘Venom’ Page believes his road to the title includes a fight with Kamaru Usman.
MVP Plans For The Future
There’s no time like the present for 37 year-old Page, who makes his second UFC appearance against Ian Garry this weekend. Just one fight into his UFC run, the former Bellator star is already ranked #13 in the welterweight division and can find himself close to title contention with a win over the #7-ranked Garry.
With potential for an all-British title fight with champ Leon Edwards later on, Page admits it may take him another win after Garry to see that dream come true and who better to face than #1 contender and former champ Kamaru Usman?
“Usman’s just chilling there,” Page said of what could be his next fight after UFC 303 on FREESTYLEBENDER. “He’s ranked number 1, as well. Obviously, massive respect to him for what he’s done in his in his career, what he’s still doing in his career. But he’s just sat at the top, and I’m like, ‘Well, where would I go next?
“It’s likely that I’m gonna have to fight one more time. So, I think [a fight with Usman] makes the most sense, in terms of that.”
Usman Agrees With MVP Wanting To Fight For A Title Soon
“The Nigerian Nightmare” isn’t a stranger to hearing his name in other contender’s mouths, most recently fielding a call-out from Shavkat Rakhmonov after the undefeated fighter insinuated Usman was scared to fight him. Usman wouldn’t take the same tone with “Venom” – who kept it clean when speaking about a potential fight with the former champion.
“He’s not wrong,” Usman responded to MVP’s title aspirations. “If he’s able to get past Ian Garry and he’s able to to fight me and scrape out a win, I mean, one hundred percent you can say, ‘Yes. I’m next for the title shot’. I think there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him saying, ‘That guy’s ranked number 1 in the world… if I can beat him, of course, I should fight for the title next.’ It’s nothing more with him being ambitious.”
Usman On MVP’s Style: “If Those Guys Solved It, Why Can’t I?”
Michael “Venom” Page has one of the more flashy styles in the UFC, as we saw in the striking clinic he put on against Kevin Holland in his promotional debut at UFC 299. At UFC 303, we’ll see how he does versus another high-level striker in Ian Garry.
Proven UFC veteran Usman has fallen in love with his hands – hitting a new stride in the striking department over the years, however Usman has struggled with kickboxers like MVP before as it showed in his last two welterweight losses to Leon Edwards – whose kicking game got the job done for him at UFC 278 and to a decision at UFC 286.
With that said, Usman still won’t shy away from a rather tricky fight with Page in the future.
“He’s a lot like him,” Usman compared MVP to Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson, another fighter he’s been interested in facing after losing the title. “He’s dynamic, and he’s different. And, obviously, that’s a puzzle. He’s a tricky puzzle that you have to solve. A couple of guys have solved it. So, if those guys solved it, why can’t I?
“So, it’s one of those things, but I see nothing wrong with what he says. He wants to challenge himself, and he wants to fight for the title, and that’s what everyone should aspire to do. You wanna be champion of the world. So, yeah, more power to him. I think he’s absolutely right. If he’s able to get wins over those two guys who can deny him a title shot? But all I have to say is it’s easier said than done.”
Usman continued.
“He’ll potentially get through this fight and then he can look at what’s next for him…. It’s so crazy and contested that where I personally think it might not be as exciting as advertised, but I can’t wait to see it anyways. I love it,” Usman said of Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s next fight against Ian Garry at UFC 303.
