On Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, “MVP,” announced his free agency after a 10-year Bellator run.
Michael Venom Page Currently a Free Agent
Michael Page says he is a free agent.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/YU4owNCnjm
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) July 17, 2023
“I am currently unemployed,” Page said.
“I think it’s time for me to just explore what else is out there. It doesn’t mean I’m not going to go back with Bellator. It just means I want to see what other people think of ‘MVP.'”
As for the rumor that he has signed with the pinnacle promotion in the sport, the UFC — his athlete page is currently on their website as you can see below.
Whether this means the promotion is looking to sign him or has already signed him remains to be seen, though history suggests athlete pages are generally a good indicator that a deal could be imminent. Fighters who compete on Dana White’s Contender Series always get UFC athlete pages regardless of whether they win, lose or are chosen to receive a UFC contract.
According to his interview with Ariel Helwani, Bellator still has the ability to match any new contract that is offered to Page (21-2).
“Venom” is coming off a TKO victory over Goiti Yamauchi at Bellator 292 in March of this year. The stoppage was just 26 seconds into the very first round and came by a vicious leg kick.
The 36-year-old has fought under the Bellator banner since 2013 and holds an impressive 17-2 record. The only two combatants he has lost to are Douglas Lima and a split decision to Logan Storley at Bellator 281.
“I think all of us missed it,” Page said of his contract. “Weirdly enough, I think it’s just one of those ones that we just all missed. [The Yamauchi win] was an exciting, quick fight. I was actually eager to try and get something going again. Obviously they were sorting out their own shows and getting that in place. But nobody really looked at contracts until we were like, ‘OK, what’s the next move?’ And I think it was [manager] Audie [Attar] or one of the guys on the team was like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re up.’ So it’s quite an interesting situation.
“[Bellator officials are] normally a lot sharper on that, and even usually when you’ve still got a few fights left, they’re already talking about what the progression is,” Page added. “So I think there’s a lot going on in the back office with their potential transition as well, and new owners, and so on and so forth. So yeah, I definitely feel like they kind of missed something there, but I think things happen for a reason in my opinion. I think it all happened for me to be able to have this space now and to make this decision, to actually say to myself, ‘OK cool, let me explore the waters in the MMA ocean and see what bites.”
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