Michael
Page grew tired of waiting around at welterweight.

The former Bellator
star recently explained his reasoning for accepting fights at
middleweight in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship ahead of his Octagon return
against Nursulton
Ruziboev at
UFC Paris.

Michael Page explains why UFC welterweight title-shot tactics
pushed him toward middleweight

Page is 4-1 in the UFC, with his lone defeat in the promotion
coming against the last challenger for the 170-pound title,
Ian
Garry. However, odd bookings followed the loss to Garry, with
the Englishman taking on middleweights Sharabutdin
Magomedov and Jared
Cannonier before dropping back down to welterweight to fight
unranked compatriot Sam
Patterson in a lackluster bout.

Page claims top-ranked welterweights would rather wait around for a
title shot than fight him, prompting the move back up to 185
pounds.

“Everyone at welterweight is, I’m trying to be polite here,†Page
said in a recent interview. “I feel like there’s too many people
wasting time at welterweight at the moment. Too many people with
entitlement issues… They believe that they should be the next in
line. And so, they’re going to wait and this and that. I don’t have
the patience for that.â€

Page acknowledged that winning a championship remains the ultimate
objective, but doesn’t believe fighters should be so calculated
about which matchups to accept.

“Everyone’s goal is the belt, but there’s no need to be this
tactical about it,†Page said. “And there’s like seven people being
tactical about it. It’s annoying. So, I just said, I’ll go the
tougher route and just move up a weight.â€

“I just enjoy my art, and I want to keep
doing it.â€

Michael “Venom” Page (@Michaelpage247)
is keen to make a statement with his performance on September 5.
#UFCParis

Fight by Fight Preview âž¡ï¸: https://t.co/fbp0AErPfk pic.twitter.com/pjCgwxosUf

— UFC News (@UFCNews)
September 2, 2026

Marlon
Vera doesn't want to live with regret, but admits his coaching
change was a tough decision.

Vera (23-12-1) is scheduled to fight Charles
Jourdain (18-8) on Sept. 19 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The former title challenger recently revealed that he is no longer
working with his longtime striking coach Jason Parillo. He claims
the split was amicable, but something had to change to halt his
losing streak in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Marlon Vera explains why he left Jason Parillo before UFC
331

Vera says it was hard to part ways with Parillo as they didn't have
any problems with each other since initially linking up in 2018.
“Chito†didn't want to get to the end of his career and wonder
whether it would’ve played out differently if he had made the
change.

“I was trying to figure out what I need, what is not getting me to
win these close decisions,†Vera told Ariel Helwani. “It was a
pretty hard decision because we didn't have a problem or nothing
bad happened. I was just like, what can I do moving forward to give
myself a chance to kill this bad streak? And I just told myself, ‘I
don't want my career to go to the very end and then question what
if I had made a change.'â€

Vera has now joined the team of fellow UFC bantamweight Raul Rosas
Jr. Vera's own gym is the base for the new team, with Rosas
Jr.'s father handling management. He has also brought back his old
wrestling and kickboxing coaches.

“Eventually, I kind of merged into Rosas Jr.'s team,†Vera added.
“And now we use my gym as headquarters for all of us… Right now,
his dad handles times and training. They already have a full team
— a kickboxing coach, a wrestling coach; both are from Russia. I
also brought back my old wrestling coach and kickboxing coach.â€

Vera is now looking to end a four-fight slump at UFC
331.

Chito Vera reveals he has parted ways with
Jason Parillo and is now working with Raul Rosas
Jr.'s team as he looks to snap his losing streak:

“It was a hard decision. Nothing bad happened… I just didn't want
to get to the end of my career and wonder, ‘What if I had made a…
pic.twitter.com/PEbyGMWRqk

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani)
September 2, 2026

UFC heavyweight prospect Gable Steveson's upcoming opponent went off on the Olympic gold medalist ahead of UFC 331.

Rising UFC heavyweight star Gable Steveson will make his second appearance in the Octagon later this month at UFC 331 in Los Angeles. Steveson, UFC legend Jon Jones' protege, earned a vicious knockout win in his highly anticipated debut at UFC 329.

Steveson will face a surprising name in his UFC 331 return: 0-2 heavyweight Sean Sharaf. Sharaf, 4-2-0 overall in his Mixed Martial Arts career, will look to earn his first UFC win after back-to-back losses to Junior Tafa and Steven Asplund.

Ahead of UFC 331, Steveson has collaborated with social media influencer Nina Drama multiple times. This has allowed UFC fans to get more insight into Steveson's personality and life outside of fighting.

But Sharaf is perplexed why Nina Drama and the UFC would push to promote Steveson after past legal issues.

Sean Sharaf defames Gable Steveson in vicious social media tirade ahead of UFC 331

In a recent Instagram comment, heavyweight Sean Sharaf scorched the UFC's repeated promotion of Steveson despite his controversial past.

“This is like the 4th collab they do with him; what's up with that UFC?†Sharaf said of Steveson.

“Guess Marines aren't worthy of interviews, just rapists.â€

Sharaf is referencing Steveson's 2019 arrest at the University of Minnesota on suspicion of sexual assault. He was subsequently suspended from wrestling team activities, but he and a teammate didn't face charges due to insufficient evidence.

Steveson and his legal team vehemently denied the allegations.

As of this writing, Steveson hasn't responded to Sharaf's Instagram comment. The Olympic gold medalist remains unbeaten in his MMA career after four straight wins to begin his time in the cage.

Expect things between Steveson and Sharaf to continue to get testy ahead of one of the biggest cards of the year at UFC 331.

What is your prediction for Gable Steveson vs. Sean Sharaf? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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