Michael Page calls UFC exit ‘disrespectful’ After 5-1 run

Michael Page believes the Ultimate Fighting Championship could have parted ways with him in a more respectful manner.

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.

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.”

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?’”