Connect with us

MMA

Michael Page says UFC big fights have been ‘very difficult’ to get

Published

3 months ago

on

Michael Page says UFC big fights have been ‘very difficult’ to get
Michael
Page has been trying to find marquee matchups in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for a while, without any
luck.

Page (25-3) is scheduled to face Nursulton
Ruziboev (37-9) in a middleweight clash at UFC
Paris on Sept. 5. While Page acknowledges Ruziboev as a worthy
opponent, it's not the matchup “Venom” was eyeing. The Brit claims
he has been trying to find opponents with big names for his past
three outings. However, he has not been able to secure a desired
matchup in a while.

Michael “Venom” Page explains frustration with UFC matchmaking
before UFC Paris fight

The former Bellator
standout has openly expressed his frustration with the UFC's
matchmaking. Page believes he has reached the pinnacle of the sport
and is surprised by his inability to secure high-profile
matchups.

“In all honesty, it’s been frustrating,†Page told Ariel Helwani.
“I feel like it’s crazy that I’ve reached the pinnacle of MMA and
trying to get a name in the Top 10 seems very, very difficult… It’s
excuse after excuse. Then we send another slate of names, and the
same thing happens… Nursulton is a tough opponent. But I was
seeking bigger names, and I have been for the last three fights.
Nobody seems to want to step in there… I’m genuinely asking for
everybody. It just feels crazy that I’m competing in the toughest
combat sport in the world, surrounded by the toughest guys, and
it’s this hard to get those fights.â€

Page is 4-1 in the UFC, with his only loss coming against Ian Garry,
who challenges Islam
Makhachev for the welterweight title next. While he was known
for his highlight reel finishes in Bellator, the Englishman's
performances in the UFC have been lackluster and he's yet to find a
finish inside the Octagon.

Page also revealed that his upcoming clash against Ruziboev is the
last fight on his current UFC contract. While the 39-year-old hopes
to continue fighting in the UFC, he is not confident that the
promotion will be interested in a renewal.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

MMA

Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’

Published

4 hours ago

on

October 11, 2026

By

Andre Fili discusses not landing extra shots after epic UFC knockout: ‘I’m a criminal, but I’m not a piece of s***’

Andre Fili knows where to draw the line.

On Saturday, Fili scored possibly the best knockout of his career, knocking out Kai Kamaka III with a head kick on the main card of UFC Vegas 122. The finish was brutal, putting Kamaka out before he even hit the canvas, but as he rushed forward to finish the fight, Fili pulled up before landing any follow-up shots, realizing Kamaka was unconscious.

At his post-fight press conference afterward, Fili expounded on the moment.

“I say this all the time: I'm a criminal, but I'm not a piece of shit,†Fili said. “I don't litter. I treat people with respect. And when I knock someone out, there's no reason to land that extra shot. He's got kids, he's got a wife, he's got a future outside of fighting. It's just not necessary, man. I hope he's OK. I didn't even really want to watch the replay back.

“Hurting people is part of the sport. I like being good at fighting. I like winning fights. I like getting paid to win fights. I like being on TV. Hurting people is a byproduct of that; it's not a driving force for me. So I'm not gonna land that extra shot.â€

Widely seen as one of the “good guys†of MMA, Fili has been a UFC veteran since 2013, and seemed to be getting emotional during his post-fight scrum. When asked about why, Fili explained.

“I poured everything I am, and everything I have into this performance, and I just really — I'm not scared of anybody in that cage,†Fili said. “Any apprehension or nerves or excitement or butterflies, it's all because I want to perform. I want to make my people proud, I want to make myself proud. I want to perform the way I know I can perform. And when it works out that way, it feels really good.

“And now I'm making enough money to where I can change the trajectory of my entire family. I come from violence and drug abuse and poverty. I live below the poverty line in America, which I know is different from being in some of these other countries, but it's below the poverty line nonetheless, and I'm here to break some generational curses. This shit's hard work.â€

Continue Reading

MMA

Christian Leroy Duncan eyes UFC title shot with Brendan Allen win

Published

7 hours ago

on

October 11, 2026

By

Christian Leroy Duncan eyes UFC title shot with Brendan Allen win
Christian
Leroy Duncan believes a win over Brendan
Allen would warrant a shot at
Ultimate Fighting Championship gold or a matchup with a former
titleholder.

Duncan (15-2) is scheduled to headline
UFC Vegas 122 against Allen (27-7) on Saturday at Meta Apex in
Las Vegas. The Englishman has defeated Roman
Dolidze and Jared
Cannonier in his last two outings and hopes a victory over
Allen will earn him one of those opportunities.

Christian Leroy Duncan targets former champion as next step
after Brendan Allen

Duncan is 8-2 in the UFC and has won five straight fights. He
believes an impressive performance against Allen could propel him
past other middleweight contenders or put him one step closer to a
title shot.

‘I don't see why not [a title shot next],†Duncan told MMA
Fighting. “We get a good performance this weekend, I don't see why
not… Brendan Allen being Top 4, it puts us in that title contention
section where we've got Strickland and Imavov who are supposed to
be fighting next. We've got DDP amongst that mix of former
champions. It will be great to then put my hat in at the top level.
This year I fought Roman being a Top 15 fighter, Cannonier being a
Top 10 fighter and now Brendan Allen being a Top 5, so the natural
progression from that would be a former champion.â€

Middleweight champion Sean
Strickland has said compensation remains an obstacle to
finalizing the first title defense of his second reign, with
Nassourdine
Imavov his expected challenger. Former champions Khamzat
Chimaev and Dricus Du
Plessis are also seeking another fight with the 185-pound
titleholder. Chimaev lost the belt to Strickland earlier this year,
while du Plessis holds two wins over the American.

Continue Reading

MMA

Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight

Published

1 day ago

on

October 10, 2026

By

Josh Hokit rips Alexander Volkov, teases move to light heavyweight
Josh
Hokit believes Alexander
Volkov will never get a chance to fight him.

Hokit (10-0) is scheduled to challenge Ciryl Gane
(14-2, one no contest) for the
Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight title at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Volkov has
criticized Hokit since the title fight was announced, and the
American has responded.

Josh Hokit says Alexander Volkov will never get his chance,
mocks heavyweight résumé

Volkov considers Hokit an easy matchup and predicts that Gane will
defeat the unbeaten contender. In response, Hokit compared their
records, noting that he defeated Derrick
Lewis and Curtis
Blaydes, both of whom beat Volkov.

“Drago†has won consecutive decisions over Jailton
Almeida and Waldo
Cortes-Acosta and is scheduled to face Rizvan
Kuniev at
UFC 333 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Hokit added that Blaydes
defeated both Almeida and Kuniev. “The Incredible Hok†claims he
will already be dominating the light heavyweight division by the
time Volkov earns a fight with him.

“Volkov saying he'd beat me easy is funny… He'll never get the
chance,†Hokit wrote on X. “I just beat Blaydes and Lewis. Volkov
lost to BOTH. Now he's fighting Kuniev (who Blaydes beat), after
squeaking by Almeida (who Blaydes dominated). I’m going to kill
Ciryl, who he lost to twice. Zero finishes, pure boring. By the
time you earn a fight with me, I'll already be dominating LH.â€

Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending