“Usman, if he’s happy to go, we go. Get that win, and then there’s no debate after that.” Michael ‘Venom’ Page has been eyeing a fight against Kamaru Usman even before losing the fight against Ian Garry at UFC 303. And now, as the welterweight division gets ready to welcome Sean Brady as the new #1 contender, MVP sent out yet another callout for the former welterweight champion. Well, ‘ex-champion’ seems to be a prerequisite for the Brit because the callout also had Colby Covington on alert. Let’s see what Page had to say.
During the Q&A session for UFC London, a reporter asked Page about his next fight in the UFC cage. MVP quoted, “I don’t know if that last fight worried a few people, but everyone seems a bit silent, there’s many names out there. I think me and Usman would be a good fight. I want to punch Colby in his face for some reason, I don’t know why. There’s guys out there. I’m just waiting for them to respond to the call.”
And what does his ideal plan for the year look like? Well, he didn’t really want to back down on fighting Covington. Following that, Page seemed to want one more bout against a top contender. He said, “If I get to punch Colby in the face, and then get somebody else, that’s ranked in the top 10, top 5, then that’s a good year.” Handing Sharaputdin Magomedov his first-ever defeat should actually let MVP decide his next opponent, don’t you agree? And getting to witness a battle between ‘Chaos’ and MVP before Page vs. Usman wouldn’t be anything short of exciting.
And as we said before, ‘ex-champ’ seems to be a prerequisite for Page. A few weeks fter the win at UFC Saudi Arabia, he expressed interest in an all-English title fight against Leon Edwards. At the time, Leon Edwards vs. Jack Della Maddalena was still on the go, and MVP had Edwards winning. If his compatriot regained the belt later this year, Page would have loved a title fight against him – a wish he stated at the end of 2023, while Edwards was still champion. Unfortunately, the matchup switched to Sean Brady, who finished Edwards for the first time in his career, thus forcing MVP to focus his attention on Usman and Covington.
Well, Michael Page has been calling out Kamaru Usman for a while now. And it hasn’t really gone unnoticed. But while the matchup between Usman and Page remains to be acknowledged by the higher-ups, let’s take a look at what ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ had to say about MVP’s performance against Kevin Holland at UFC 299.
Kamaru Usman claims Michael ‘Venom’ Page could have done better at UFC 299
No doubt, MVP impressed the world of mixed martial arts, including Usman, by defeating Kevin Holland at UFC 299. However, Usman seemed to believe that Page could have done a lot better in the bout. After praising Page for his walkout and win on an episode of ‘Pound4Pound’ podcast, the former welterweight champion reflected on the times when Page wasn’t as impressive. He said, “There was a couple of times it was just bad. Like he would sweep him I think it was the third round or the end of the second round. It got to the point where Kevin Holland was just, I don’t know what to do. And MVP would then clinch up, sweep him throw him on the ground kind of and then just kind of mock him.”
That was something that a professional fighter simply cannot allow to happen. He continued, “But you know it’s ok to do until that one guy hits you gets you caught and it’s game over. Basically I would say it’s a big risk clowning the guy and big reward. Now the risk part we saw when he fought Douglas Lima the first time. And on the reward part you see him clown guys.”
Nevertheless, MVP currently stands at the 15th spot in the welterweight rankings. He was previously linked to a fight with Stephen Thompson. Getting a fight against #9 or #10 welterweight contenders would certainly get him closer to a fight against ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ And getting to witness the battle between MVP and Usman would be nothing short of exciting.
What are your thoughts on Page’s plan for the year? Do you think he can get close to a title shot by the end of 2025? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.
The post Bitter Rivals Colby Covington & Kamaru Usman Get Fight Update As Michael ‘Venom’ Page Makes Huge Request appeared first on EssentiallySports.