Michael Page laments Islam Makhachev's inactivity heading into Nursulton Ruziboev fight at UFC Paris

Michael Page appears to have directed criticism at reigning UFC welterweight champion Islam Makhachev.

Page, seemingly echoing the sentiments of many critics of the Dagestani fighter, lamented that the latter doesn't fight as frequently as one would expect from him as the welterweight kingpin.

Michael Page's criticism of Islam Makhachev's infrequent Octagon appearances as the UFC welterweight champion; his own middleweight move

In a recent conversation with Adam Catterall on One On One MMA, former Bellator MMA staple and current UFC welterweight and middleweight star, Michael Page, addressed his return to the middleweight division in Paris this Saturday. "MVP" is eyeing title contention at middleweight. 

Catterall alluded to Page's transition to the higher weight class being a beneficial decision, as he's healthier without the grueling cut down to 170 pounds. The towering fighter concurred and stated: 

"I am (delighted). But it's weird, like -- I had to make that shift. I was fighting. 'Cause I really wanted to be at welterweight... Don't get me wrong; there's a lot of exciting fights at middleweight. But there's a lot of exciting fights I wanted to have at welterweight. Just had nobody in that division, at the moment, seems to want to fight."

In a critique of certain UFC welterweights and Islam Makhachev as well, Page underscored that he's more likely to find opponents willing to fight him at 185 pounds, which, in turn, would help him stay active and ascend to capture a UFC title. 

Page said, "And everyone's waiting. And the person that has got the belt (Islam Makhachev), unfortunately, fights probably once a year. Right? And I was looking at the division, like, this is a waste of time. And that is another thing that kind of made me say, 'Okay. Cool. Let me just focus now on the middleweight division." 

Watch Michael "Venom" Page's assessment of the UFC welterweight divisional conundrum and his transition to middleweight below (*comments at the 2:53-minute mark of the video): 

Michael Page heads into a crossroads fight with Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris; Islam Makhachev eyes a return before Ramadan 2027

Michael Page is 4-1 in the UFC thus far, with his lone defeat being a unanimous decision loss against Ian Machado Garry back in 2024. The Briton is on a three-fight win streak, having competed in a pair of middleweight matchups last year and a welterweight bout in March of this year. The 170-pound clash, his most recent fight, saw him outpoint Sam Patterson. 

Presently, Page is booked for a much-awaited middleweight showdown against Uzbekistan's Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris on September 5. The Londoner is aiming to beat Ruziboev and re-sign with the UFC. 

Meanwhile, former UFC lightweight champion and current UFC welterweight titlist Islam Makhachev defended his welterweight throne by beating Ian Machado Garry via unanimous decision last month. The hard-fought win witnessed Makhachev notch the record for the longest UFC win streak ever (17), breaking the great Anderson "The Spider" Silva's record of 16 consecutive UFC victories.

Incidentally, Makhachev also happens to have fought thrice in the last year and this year combined, as has Page -- albeit the Englishman heads into his fourth fight this weekend. On his part, Makhachev recently affirmed that he'd love to fight more often, emphasizing that he'd like to defend the welterweight belt before Ramadan 2027, ideally in January. 

Nevertheless, a key point that a number of Makhachev's detractors have underlined is that -- since winning the welterweight belt by outpointing Jack Della Maddalena last November -- Makhachev has fought just once this year.