In the UFC’s 600-fighter roster, anonymity is the norm. Most names fade into obscurity while a select few transcend the barriers to become household names. This harsh reality defines MMA’s peculiar economy—a world where entertainment value often outweighs competitive merit. However, it is safe to say that Michael “Venom” Page shattered this paradigm before ever stepping into the Octagon. Unlike countless fighters who enter the UFC desperate for recognition, MVP arrived as a bonafide star. His skull-shattering knockout of Evangelista Santos and then rolling a Pokeball in his direction had gone viral while his matrix-like fighting style had already cultivated a devoted audience during his Bellator tenure.

This inverted journey makes the financial question surrounding his UFC signing much more intriguing. While most fighters grudgingly accept smaller paychecks for the privilege of competing on MMA’s biggest stage, Page entered the promotion with something few possess: leverage. In a business where the ability to captivate an audience translates directly to pay-per-view buys, MVP had mastered the most valuable skill in combat sports—making people willing to pay to see what he’ll do next.

The UFC may be notoriously stingy, but even they recognize when a fighter has already built their own cathedral. Sometimes, even the pope has to pay the market rate for prayers. The English striker joined the ‘Overdogs’ podcast, where host and BKFC superstar, Mike Perry asked him about a peculiar topic. “When you got signed to the UFC, did you take any bit of a pay cut because you wanted to chase that gold strap and that title?” ‘Platinum’ asked. To which Page answered with a definitive “Hell no.” 

After all, he had already made a name for himself before joining the UFC and knew what he was worth: “If I left earlier, definitely would have taken a pay cut. But I put in a lot of work and created a name for myself and a quite big name considering I hadn’t even gone to the UFC. And they saw the value in that and I’m thankful that they saw the value in that and obviously the years of work. But there was no way I was taking a pay cut.” Page declared.

The Londoner was well aware of his worth before joining the Las Vegas-based promotion. Page recalled a conversation he had with UFC matchmaker, Hunter Campbell, where he was able to set his own terms, unlike almost any other new fighter who joins the UFC.

“I was like ‘Look, I’ve been in this game long enough, I don’t need any, like build-up fights, I don’t need a storyline, I don’t need none of that.’ Just throw me in the deep end and see if I can swim,” he added. And indeed that is exactly what happened.

Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s rapid rise in the UFC

When a fighter joins the UFC, they have to grind their way up. Usually, this involves fighting unranked guys, who go up in competition followed by ranked fighters. However, that was not the case with Page. Instead, ‘MVP’ was given an illustrious veteran in the form of Kevin Holland in his UFC debut, who is a gatekeeper to the top-15 ranked guys in the 170lbs division.

“Which is why I’ve had the fights I’ve had. Which is why I’ve had the names I’ve had so far. And I’m gonna keep calling out the big names, just for big fights, because that’s what I wanna do. I’ve done all the work, and they’re paying me to do exactly that,” Page told Perry.

Indeed, Page has fought only big names since then. After Holland, the Englishman fought then-undefeated wunderkind, Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 who went on to break division boogeyman Shavkat Rakhmonov’s 100 percent finish record at UFC 310. Although, the Irishman fell short but gave the Kazakh juggernaut a run for his money. Case in point? Page fought a certified killer in his second-ever UFC bout.

But given his star power, Page only went upwards. While his first two UFC fights were on the main card, his third, against the dynamic Shara Magomedov at 185lbs at UFC Saudi Arabia was in the co-main event, which is unheard of for a guy who was 1-1 in the UFC. But then again, Michael ‘Venom’ Page is not just any other fighter, he was an MMA star before even joining the UFC. What do you think about ‘MVP’s revelations to Mike Perry?