Michael Venom Page recently lauded reigning UFC middleweight champion and former training partner Khamzat Chimaev.
This weekend at UFC London, “Venom,” who is moving back down to welterweight, will be facing the unranked Sam Patterson, who is riding a four-fight win streak and boasts a promotional record of 4-1.
After 2 back-to-back wins in the middleweight division, Page wanted to fight a formidable opponent next, but the matchmakers played spoiler by matching him against an unranked foe, with whom “MVP” has trained in the past.
Hence, the 38-year-old is not a fan of UFC’s recent wave of matchmaking.
Michael Venom Page believes Khamzat Chimaev is a “monster” and will be a very ‘hard fight’ for Sean Strickland
On UFC London media day, the Brit also spoke about the UFC 328 headliner, in which Khamzat Chimaev will be making the first defense of his middleweight title and will lock horns with Sean Strickland.
Like many others, “MVP” believes “Tarzan” was fast-tracked to a title shot over Imavov, who is the No. 2-ranked contender on a 5-fight win streak. Page opined that Imavov deserves to fight for the title:
I don’t even think this fight [Chimaev vs. Strickland] should exist right now… I feel like Imavov deserved the fight, and that’s the fight we should be talking about right now.”
While some believe Sean Strickland’s unconventional fighting style, superior cardio and striking pedigree, and most importantly, the American fighter’s trash-talking ability could frustrate “Borz,” Page, after training with the Chechen-born Emirati, believes Chimaev is a tough monster and won’t be easy game for Strickland at all. He added:
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Chimaev in the gym, working very closely with him. That guy is a monster. He’s not normal. I always say it’s nice to see someone that is very high level in a slightly different area and I’m watching him and it was beautiful to watch. Seeing up to close and personal, obviously seeing it in the fights, but seeing up close and personal, he’s gonna be a tough person to beat.”
Check out Michael Venom Page’s comments below (21:02:
Michael Venom Page trains at London Shootfighters. However, before his UFC 303 bout against Ian Machado Garry, “MVP” trained with Tom Aspinall and Khamzat Chimaev. At that time, Chimaev was preparing to face former champion Robert Whittaker at UFC 308, and Aspinall was gearing up for a fight against Curtis Blaydes.
Page also added during the same sitdown that he expects to get a big win at UFC London and then hopefully fight someone ranked. For now, he plans to fight at 170-pounds; however, if “Venom” finds it hard to find a higher-status opponent in the future, he might seek a move back to middleweight or a potential move up to 205 pounds.
