Before making waves under the bright lights of the UFC, Michael ‘Venom’ Page was already considered to be one of the best MMA strikers (and most ruthless trolls) out there.
Back when he was fighting in Bellator, MVP would go viral when he donned a Pokémon hat and threw a Poké Ball towards his writhing opponent after literally smashing his skull in with a flying knee.
A few years later, he would bring out the Infinity Gauntlet as famously worn by MCU villain Thanos after scoring an equally devastating KO over David Rickels.
Whilst the flashy British superstar is yet to land his first knockout under the UFC banner, Page has now teased that he’s got something special in store for whenever that KO does arrive.
Michael ‘Venom’ Page on his iconic post-knockout celebrations
Michael ‘Venom’ Page is a well-known fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, telling Mirror Fighting earlier this week that he sees a lot of himself in the ‘Merc with a Mouth’, aka Deadpool.
“I would say, because he’s unorthodox, not quite a villain, but he does villain stuff. He seems like he has that banter as well. He likes to have banter and have fun, which is me. He could fight for the good guys, but he could also fight against them. He’ll just do whatever.”
The 37-year-old made his UFC debut last year and has racked up two impressive wins so far in the promotion – including a sensational decision win over Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov earlier this month.
Given how Page’s post-KO antics are almost as well-known as the KOs themselves, it’s no surprise to hear that he’s desperate to show off his next viral celebration.
“100%, I always do [have a celebration in mind]. It’s important because how I manifest my celebrations is usually based on the energy or person I’m fighting,” he stated, before explaining the origins of his infamous Pokémon and Thanos salutes.
“With ‘Cyborg’ [Santos)], it came because brother was like ‘He sounds like he could be a Pokémon.’ And I was like ‘Oh snap, yeah for real!’ The Thanos glove celebration came because the Marvel Infinity War came out just a month before so that was fresh in everybody’s minds.
“It kind of depends on the timing of the fight and who I’m fighting, but there’s always going to be something there already.”
Michael Page reveals when and where he’d like his next UFC fight to take place
With one big win already secured, MVP is hoping to keep his momentum going and land up to four victories in 2025 – but when and where is he plotting to make his return?
Well, he’d love the chance to fight at UFC Fight Night: Edwards vs Della Maddalena in London but knows that the more likely scenario is for him to fight at UFC 314 in April.
“If they were to give me a fight on the London card, I don’t think I’d get the chance unless they go ‘Oh look, we’ve got a fight for you’ and it was at middleweight because that makes it easier, I’ll probably do that.
“The following month, in Miami, I’m actually looking for. It gives me a little bit more time to cut down and get back down to welterweight. So, I’m probably hoping to get back on that show.”
Page stated that he’d like to fight in April, July, and October – explaining how “that’d be an exceptional year for me” as he also noted that his style tends to result in minimal damage, meaning that he can fight more often.
“Everyone that I want to fight is higher ranked or at the top, so, it’s more just any good fight that gets me back in the good rankings… I want to try and get top 10. I feel like my fight at middleweight hopefully gives me some brownie points to get a top 10 fight at welterweight.”