After months of suspense, UFC CEO Dana White finally took to his socials to announce that light heavyweight champion Alex Pereira will face Jamahal Hill in the main event of UFC 300. This came right before the final bout of UFC 298 ended, and also of course as a disappointment for many fans, who after UFC 100 and 200 were expecting a headliner to knock their socks off in the upcoming tricentenary card.

This sentiment is present not only among fans but also among some fighters. One of them is rising MMA star Michael ‘Venom’ Page who will make his much-awaited UFC debut on UFC 299 on March 9. In an interview with MMA Mania, the Englishman spoke about why the anniversary card is not as exciting as fans had hoped.

‘MVP’ thinks Leon Edwards’ absence will hurt UFC 300

UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards had told reporters days after his UFC 296 victory over Colby Covington that he would be defending his title at UFC 300. In addition, Ariel Helwani revealed that the UFC was looking to match up Edwards against either Khamzat Chimaev or Belal Muhammad for UFC 300.

However, Chimaev has refused a UFC 300 booking due to its proximity to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Edwards vs. Muhammad elicited considerable pushback from fans. In the end, the Englishman did not get the honor of headlining the anniversary card, which did not bode well with Michael ‘Venom’ Page.

‘MVP’ told MMA Mania that UFC 300 did not live up to the expectations set for it, and felt that UFC 299 was a better card than 300, a sentiment shared by a sizeable portion of the UFC fanbase. He also was glad about it since he was fighting in UFC 299.

“Yeah the news of Dana saying he [Leon Edwards] won’t be on the card, it’s a shame because… I think that people were searching for something big for that UFC 300. I don’t think we’ve gotten it yet. The good thing about it is [UFC] 299 is everybody’s 300 and I’m a part of that. Selfishly speaking, I’m not that mad at it,” ‘MVP’ told MMA Mania as he set up to make his UFC debut against a fighter who has ben a fixture of the welterweight division.

‘MVP’ to face Holland on UFC debut

Michael ‘Venom’ Page, unlike most UFC fighters, has come into the promotion as a star. Having earned a dedicated fanbase due to his dynamic and exciting striking-first fighting style in his Bellator stint, he has jumped into the deep end straight away and will take on #13 ranked welterweight Kevin Holland.

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Page will face Holland on the main card of the stacked UFC 299 card at the Kaseya Center and a victory will help him break into the UFC rankings straight away after only one fight in the promotion and get him closer to an eventual title shot. The Englishman narrowly lost a split decision to Logan Stroley in the only title bout of his pro-MMA career at Bellator 281 last year.

And with the clock ticking on the 36-year-old’s career, he would be looking to go full throttle to earn himself a UFC title shot. This would be dangerous against the Americab, who is always willing to scrap and has a similar striking-first fight style as ‘MVP’.

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