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Original Description
Michael "Venom" Page joins ahead of his middleweight match with Jacob Kilburn at #UFC319 in Chicago, IL.
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Video Transcript
You know, I don't know why I'm I'm I'm
thinking reminiscent here, but it's just
you've been at this for so so long, you
know? I mean, some fans see you as a new
guy because you're still making your way
in the UFC, but
what what has this chapter of your
career been like so far? I mean, we're
what? This is your fifth fight now in
the UFC.
Oh, four. Is this going to be the fourth
fight? Fourth?
Yeah. Yeah. But it's, as you say, it's
weird because people have heard of me
for a long time, but yet obviously I'm
new in the within the UFC. But for me,
it's just the exciting last chapter.
Like I'm this is where I finish my
career 100%. And I just want to make as
much noise and the goal is a belt before
before I do before I say goodbye. The
goal is a belt. Is this the most fun
where you're like on the biggest
platform or when you were, you know,
fighting more frequently and maybe the
views weren't there but you were you
have a little more like you mentioned
politics as well trying to get fights.
What
uh to be fair like the politics side of
things I think that's everywhere. It's
there's there's no way you can go and
and not expect the you know just
people's inputs that creates politics.
So I accept it for what it is. Like I
understand it and that side can be
frustrating but that's everywhere. But
100% just coming to the UFC I feel so
welcomed. I feel like people are treat
me as if I have been here for for many
years. And I think it's also because
they've been fans of me from before. But
it's just I'm I'm happy right now, man.
Like this is definitely the best time of
my career.
This fight is kind of non-traditional,
right? It's like we
It doesn't make a ton of sense on paper,
but then of course everyone's excited
about it. Do you feel that? Like do you
feel going into this one yourself? Yeah,
a little a a little bit only because
it's
my goal was still to kind of go back to
the welterweight division and then
because of that kind of political area
and my own frustrations I like look I
just want to get another fight so I'm
going to move up. So, um, a little a
little bit of a random one again, but
obviously I have recently just done uh
my last fight was at middleweight
anyway, so it it makes sense and it
doesn't make sense. And for me, again, I
just want the fight. So, it feels like
that from other people, but at the same
time, I think this this this world
provides stuff like that all the time.
Do you feel like um
what do you think the stakes are? like
what's what are the stakes for this one
and and like compare it to some of the
other ones that kind of do make quote
unquote more sense.
No, to be fair, I think the only one
that really held like high stakes for
me, it's just my entry as in the first
fight uh against Kevin Holland was there
was a massive question mark over can he
do it at the UFC? Massive question mark.
I don't feel the fans are in that place
anymore and they just enjoy watching me
be in the cage. They're watching me
being the octagon, being myself and they
just appreciate like I'm getting so much
respect for my, you know, my ability of
striking and so on and so forth. Whereas
before I got the respect with the
question mark of yeah, but can you do it
over here? And now I feel like I'm just
getting the respect. So it's nice. Um,
so yeah. No, I feel I think everything's
uh in the right place.
You know, last month Max Holloway kept
saying uh this sport is a sport of
moments. Yeah.
And like you come to mind for that. Do
you feel like you've had your MVP moment
here?
Hell no. No. No. Not even the slightest.
And it's it's it's it's weird because
again people have enjoyed my fights and
you know some would say I've performed
well, but I know I haven't performed in
the the fashion that I know I can
perform at. Um, I know I guess loads of
people can just say that, but I'll just
always go back to if you look at my
whole career. I'm talking go back to
even when my kickboxing fights and just
see what kind of things I'm doing and
I've done it again with Bellator and
just everywhere I go in the boxing world
and you know just everywhere and I've
come here and I haven't quite landed uh
what I wanted yet. So um but I I kind of
feel like I figured out exactly what
that was. Um, so this is why I'm excited
to kind of put on a show for for this
weekend.
And do you feel like it's it's hard to
get those moments sometimes because
because you are known for them. Your
opponents know that too and they don't
want to be on the other end of it. So do
you feel like even just the strategies
or the mindsets that you've faced so far
in the UFC, have they been a little
different?
Um, no. I've had to adjust a lot of what
I'm doing just because as you say there
are people are a lot more aware of what
can come from from me. So they get in
the cage. I do feel like people do play
it safe. No one is willing to stand with
me. It's It's just not happening.
Everyone is going to want to, you know,
dive for my legs. And even when they get
into good positions, nobody even wants
to give me the chance to maneuver. So,
they prefer to just squeeze and stay
there and let the time like look at the
clock, make sure the time's running out
instead of try to cause damage. And so,
this is why so many of my fights I've
come out and I look the same as same way
I've gone in there. So yeah, I have to
adjust and you know, I've made a lot of
adjustments to try to rectify that. Um
because I feel obviously it's the easy
way out for them, but the fact is they
they're going to do what's going to keep
them safe. For me, I got to do what's
going to make me the same me as always.
So, uh I've made my adjustments.
And where on that, uh where on that
mindset do you think Jared is going to
fall? Like knowing him and watching him
the way he his style, is he going to
play it safe? Is he going to try to
clutch at you a lot? Or do you think
this guy's going to come to fight you?
Yeah, I think everybody starts
the everybody has in their own mind that
they're going to do it very different
from everybody else. I say, "Yeah, that
you know, you know, I'm going to turn
this guy into a wrestler." They're like,
"Hell no, that's not going to happen." D
and then they fight me. And like I said,
it's it's only when you get hit with a
shot that you didn't even see me move
because of the speed or the timing or
your you corner me and you throw a shot
and I'm not there. And it's just like
this is frustrating and it's only going
to get worse. So this is where they and
then they start seeing flashes of all
the other fights that they watch me in
and they're like, "Yep, let's let's go
back to hugging." So regardless of how
tough I know he is and how talented I
know he is, he probably going to resort
to, you know, trying to just hold me.
Well, I'm going to bring this up every
time I I do bring it up every time I
talk to you and I'm going to keep doing
it. Leon Edwards in in in uh in England.
Yeah, that that's still where we're
going. And has it become this thing
where it's like it will if for whatever
reason it doesn't happen that it
actually will
bother you? Like has it reached that
kind of level of of how badly you want
it?
No, no, no, no. It wouldn't bother me.
Like I said, I'm doing it more so for
my fan base, my uh people that would
idolize and look up to me, people from
my community that can see myself and
Leon that come from very similar places.
I feel like I want that fight for them
more than it is for myself. It would
just be a shame if it doesn't, you know,
come to fruition. I feel like obviously
with his past performances of recent and
also having uh equally having guys that
just want to hold him, it should be more
exciting for him as well to have a fight
that is just going to be a striking fest
and just put it all on the line, put it
all out there in the UK. Um maybe next
year. We'll see. Uh, I'm hoping before I
I call it quits that we we can get that
done cuz I feel like we haven't really
had that kind of UK uh big clash. We get
that we get in boxing all the time uh
with two talented UK uh fighters and
like really memorable stories. We just
had one recently with Connor Ben and
Eubanks Jr. and there's been many mo of
those kind of moments in the UK boxing
but not really in UK MMA and I feel like
we can deliver that.
Yeah. and I I would so much love to see
it. But for now, we'll uh we'll turn our
focus on Saturday, man. Looking forward
to it. Thank you so much. Yeah, like I
said, it's not a fight that makes a ton
of sense on paper, but everybody's
excited about it. So, yeah. Good luck on
Saturday.
Thank you.
[Applause]
[Music]