Michael “Venom” Page walked out of UFC Paris with another win on his record and no contract in his pocket. Days later, the company quietly let one of the sport’s most distinctive strikers hit free agency. The decision has landed badly with at least one former champion.
Israel Adesanya, never shy about calling out what he sees, believes the UFC got this one wrong.
A winning record, a cold exit
Page’s short UFC run was efficient if not electric. Five wins in six fights, the only blemish a loss to rising star and title contender Ian Machado Garry. On paper, that’s the résumé of a man you keep.
But the noise around his future had been building before UFC Paris. That night, Page did what the matchmakers asked: he beat another tough opponent, closed out his deal, and left with his hand raised. The performance, though, didn’t ignite the arena. The highlight-reel chaos that made him a cult figure in Bellator never truly translated in the octagon.
The UFC decided they’d seen enough. No new deal. No big push. Just a door quietly closing on one of the sport’s most unorthodox talents.
Adesanya: “They got it wrong”
Adesanya didn’t hide his frustration when Page’s release became public, especially when he lined it up against the situation of heavyweight fan-favorite Tai Tuivasa, who remains on the roster despite an eight-fight losing streak.
“It’s unfortunate. They cut Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and they don’t cut [Tai Tuivasa]… The UFC is a different business,” Adesanya said, pointing to how decisions are made at the top. “They, the brass themselves, go on a case-by-case basis. They’re human beings, man. I’ve had my dealings with my managers in the UFC, and I’ve heard stories of how they get deals done, you know? I’m sure there’s a lot of bodies buried in the desert.”
Then he circled back to Page.
“With Michael ‘Venom’ Page, I feel like they got it wrong on that one because he only lost to Ian Garry, who just went toe-to-toe with the pound-for-pound number one, Islam.”
For Adesanya, that context matters. Losing only to a man who just pushed Islam Makhachev to the brink, while stacking wins elsewhere, should not be the profile of a fighter being cut loose.
A difficult puzzle to solve
Adesanya also spoke like a striker who recognises another technician’s burden. Page’s style has always been awkward, elusive, and maddening for opponents. That, Adesanya argued, can make fights look flat if the other man refuses to take risks.
“Michael is just a hard man to kill. And everyone that fights him – I know this because I’ve done this to people – I’m not the same style as Michael. But I’ve been in fights where I just know this guy just doesn’t want to attack me. This guy is just waiting. He’s waiting for me to come to him.”
Then came the part only a fellow sniper really understands.
“But I’m touching the guy. I’m peppering the guy, and I’m like, ‘Bro, I’m hitting you. You’ve got to come to me.’ But they just want a freebie, and this is not a freebie.”
To Adesanya, Page isn’t a boring fighter. He’s a specialist whose brilliance depends on an opponent willing to engage. When that doesn’t happen, the spectacle suffers, and in the UFC’s entertainment-first ecosystem, that can be fatal.
“You have to let people cook”
Adesanya pushed back on the idea that Page hadn’t delivered.
“You have to let people cook, give them time,” he said. “Like, Michael, yeah, I understand he was a big investment from Bellator. He’s getting paid well. And he’s delivering, I think, ’cause he’s winning.”
The problem, as Adesanya sees it, lies in expectation. The UFC signed Page hoping to import the chaos he produced in Bellator: walk-off knockouts, wild angles, viral clips. What they got instead was a winning, but more measured, version of that fighter.
“But maybe they weren’t seeing what they were seeing in Bellator, and they were hoping for that kind of excitement… I find it exciting.”
The UFC clearly didn’t see enough to justify his price tag.
What next for “Venom”?
Page now stands as one of the most intriguing free agents in MMA. He leaves the UFC with a strong record, a recognisable name, and a style that still unsettles even elite strikers. Promotions around the world know exactly what that combination is worth.
The UFC, as Adesanya reminded, is a business that makes hard, sometimes cold, choices. This one cuts against the grain of merit: a fighter who wins more than he loses, let go not for results, but for the feeling he didn’t light up the cage often enough.
If Page finds a new home that leans into his flair and gives him the freedom Adesanya insists he needs, the question won’t be why the UFC let him go.
It’ll be how they let a fighter like that slip away.
