Michael Page ponders which division offers fastest route to UFC title
UFC's Michael "Venom" Page discusses his path to a title shot, weighing options between welterweight and middleweight.
Michael Page isn't sure if welterweight or middleweight is his best path forward toward a UFC title shot. "Venom," or "MVP," as most fight fans refer to him, has been floating between the two divisions since his arrival in the UFC. His ultimate goal before hanging up the gloves is to fight for gold, but considering he hasn't firmly planted his flag at 170 or 185, makes it hard to determine his best path.
Even if he did make a firm choice, Page says he isn't sure if his choice would be the correct one, because he just saw a higher-ranked contender get passed over for a title opportunity when Nassourdine Imavov was snubbed in favor of Sean Strickland fighting Khamzat Chimaev for middleweight gold at UFC 328 in May. "It's so difficult to tell," Page said in a CBS Sports HQ interview. "I only just found out today, and I didn't realize that Strickland got given a middleweight fight to get the title against Khamzat.
Now, for me, he should have never got that fight. It should be Imavov, who I think most people would say he was kind of the obvious next one in line. With that said, you kind of don't know.
"It doesn't seem to be a guarantee on getting the next title shot. I would say middleweight looks like, maybe there's a quicker route to the title, but based on what's just happened, I couldn't even say that anymore. " Page's first two fights under the UFC banner were in the welterweight division.