Michael Page shared his honest thoughts on how the UFC operates its promotion and his departure. Page revealed that the current state of fighter pay is not great, particularly because of how they want fighters to compete. He noted that the promotion emphasizes entertainment instead of strategy.
Page’s time with the promotion came to an end following UFC Paris in September. Despite going 5-1 inside the octagon, ‘MVP’s contract was not renewed. He has been criticized for not being more aggressive in his fights and going the distance.
Page, 39, also received criticism on social media for not delivering flashy highlight-reel knockouts like he did in Bellator. Even though he had a winning record, which included wins in two different weight classes, the UFC moved on.
Now, Page shared his side of what he observed during his UFC tenure and what he learned.
Michael Page Delivers Blunt Take on His UFC Departure
Michael Page delivered a blunt assessment of his UFC departure. He revealed that UFC CEO Dana White only cares about whether a fight is a bloody brawl.
According to Page, the fighter pay was not worth the risk of fighting with reckless abandon. However, if the promotion compensated him, he would have considered changing his strategy to appease the matchmakers.
“The facts are the facts. [UFC] don’t pay fighters enough. They don’t pay fighters well enough. Dana White just wants blood and guts all the time. He really seems to be pressing this point on fighting or having guys that are in there that want to just throw their life at risk. It’s not about skill anymore,” Page told the Fight Your Corner podcast.
He continued:
“[White] wants people that are busted up, cut open, just damaged. You want that, but you’re not paying them. If you were paying them, even if they said to me, ‘We’re going to give you some more money, we want you to really push forward,’ fine. At least give me an option,” Page said. “This is the only sport where you could lose and move forward, and you could win and move backward. I don’t think there’s any other sport that allows that to happen. That’s probably why I was getting so much criticism.”
Page Reveals When He Realized a Shift In How the UFC Was Treating Him
Page also revealed that his fight with Shara Magomedov was a turning point for his UFC career. He admitted that he realized there was a shift in how he was being treated after defeating Magomedov.
Page felt that he was basically being punished for defeating a fighter whom the UFC had high hopes for.
“When I fought Shara ‘Bullet,’ it was only after ,when I was trying to get fights after that, that I realized, ‘Oh, something’s wrong,’ because they were hyping this kid up so much. I was thinking, ‘When I win that fight, they’re just gonna start pushing me now. I’m gonna get fights left, right, and center.’ That’s not what happened,” Page told Fight Your Corner.
“It made me question, ‘Maybe I was supposed to lose that fight.’ And I don’t mean there’s anybody trying to rig it, but I think they were hoping I was going to lose. They could use my name to big up this kid they’re pushing, pushing, pushing,” Page said.
Michael Page Delivers Blunt Take on His UFC Departure