Page (26-3) exhausted his UFC contract with a lackluster unanimous
decision win over Nursulton
Ruziboev at
UFC Paris. “Venom†was denied a post-fight interview,
subsequently dropped from the official UFC rankings and UFC CEO
Dana
White confirmed that his contract wouldn't be renewed.

Michael Page questions UFC treatment after four straight wins
and contract exit

Page went 5-1 in the UFC and was riding a four-fight win streak
upon exhausting his contract. As such, he believes he deserved
contract negotiations at the very least, rather than a straight
departure from the promotion.

“I had goals to achieve and regardless of anything, I was winning
my fights, which says to me you get to stay,†Page told Ariel
Helwani. “That’s the premise of this game, is success should breed
more opportunities. So, I still felt like we’ll sit down at the
table… I felt what may happen is they just say, ‘Look, we can
re-sign you, but it’s going to be a lot less,' and we work from
there. But I wouldn’t have expected it to be dealt with in the way
that it was dealt with. I found that quite disrespectful, to be
fair.â€

Page was known for his highlight-reel knockouts in Bellator
MMA. He parted ways with Bellator in 2023 when it was taken
over by the
Professional Fighters League and signed with the UFC. Page's
flashy style didn't translate into his UFC career as he faced
severe backlash for point-fighting from a distance and failing to
record a single finish inside the Octagon.

Notably, Page wasn't allowed a post-fight Octagon interview after
his win over Ruziboev, marking the second time this has happened.
He says the UFC could've let him speak to the Paris crowd when they
already knew he was going to be released.

“You’ve seen fights that have been absolutely terrible and they
still get to go on the mic and say their piece,†Page added. “So,
this is the second time it’s happened to me. I feel like,
especially if you knew you weren’t going to re-sign me, what was
the harm in even allowing me to speak to my fans, speak to the
Paris crowd who are amazing? I don’t understand who makes those
calls, to know who I’d even go to, to be like, ‘What’s that
about?'â€

Moicano (21-7) was scheduled to welcome Ortega (16-5) to the

Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight division at UFC
331 on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. However,
the matchup fell through five days before fight night after Ortega
suffered a cut above his eye in training, which required
stitches.

Moicano, who now has a new assignment for a later date, recently
addressed Ortega's pull-out.

Renato Moicano unloads on Brian Ortega after their UFC 331
fight falls apart

Moicano will now fight surging prospect Tom Nolan
(11-1) in the main event of a
Fight Night on Oct. 31 at Meta Apex in Las Vegas. The Brazilian
recently went off on Ortega for pulling out of the matchup,
revealing that he's frustrated as he missed out on what he viewed
as a favorable matchup.

“Ortega chickened out,†Moicano said on his YouTube channel.
“Something I never expected whatsoever. Quite simply, the easiest
fight in the division just slipped right through my fingers. And I
was pissed, I was angry, but there's nothing I can do about it. If
you're watching this video, it's because I'm not going to fight at
UFC 331, unfortunately, because of this son of a b*tch, because of
this guy who's always pulling out.â€

Ortega has previously pulled out of a matchup against Moicano
scheduled for this past March. The latter further notes that the
former featherweight title challenger also missed weight for his
last fight against Aljamain
Sterling last year.

Moicano believes Ortega has lost all credibility after pulling out
of consecutive fights and claims that “T-City†blamed his breakup
with fellow UFC fighter Tracy
Cortez for missing weight against Sterling.

“Nobody is ever going to trust you again,†Moicano added. “Who's
going to want to fight Brian Ortega? He already missed weight
against Sterling; he's had all kinds of problems. I didn't want to
bring these personal things up here, but in interviews he said it
was Tracy Cortez's fault, that Tracy Cortez was making his life
miserable, that he was having problems because of that. And now,
over the last two years, over the last three years, what's the
problem? I'm asking, but I want you to go f*ck yourself. I don't
even want to know.â€

Abdullaev (14-0) took on Ednilson
Barros Santos (14-8-1) in a lightweight matchup on
Week 6 of
Dana White's Contender Series 2026. He knocked Santos out with
a vicious right hand in just 19 seconds to earn a UFC contract.

Akbar Abdullaev wants a quick UFC debut after stopping Ednilson
Barros Santos

The undefeated prospect with a 100% finishing rate became the first
Kyrgyz fighter to earn a UFC contract on DWCS. UFC CEO Dana
White later hailed Abdullaev as possibly the greatest prospect
in DWCS history.

Abdullaev says he was ready for everything going into his DWCS
opportunity. He had always dreamed of a UFC career, irrespective of
whether he earned a direct contract or went through the Contender
Series. Eager to start his UFC career, the 28-year-old wants to
make his debut within a couple of months.

“This was my place; I was ready for everything,†Abdullaev said in
a post-fight interview. “I happen to be a part of the UFC. It
wasn't important to me how to get here, through the Contender
Series, just a straight contract or any other way. I dreamed of
being here and I am here… I'm hungry; give me fights, I'm ready to
fight in October or November.â€