Michael Venom Page is not a UFC fighter anymore. The 39-year-old signed a multi-year, multi-fight deal with MF Sports, the parent company of Misfits Boxing, and announced it in the ring at a Misfits event on Saturday night.
He was not cut. He fought out his contract and the UFC did not re-sign him. That distinction matters, because Page went 5-1 in the promotion.
5-1, With One Loss to a Top Contender
Page is 26-3 overall in MMA. His UFC record is 5-1, and the single loss came against Ian Machado Garry.
His last fight in the promotion was a unanimous decision over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris in September. He won, and then he left.
A 39-year-old welterweight going 5-1 against UFC competition is a useful fighter. Letting him walk while he is still winning is a choice the UFC made, and Misfits is the beneficiary.
What He Actually Signed
Per Ariel Helwani, the deal is exclusive but allows Page to compete in grappling and wrestling. No debut date is set and the financial terms were not disclosed.
What has not been specified is whether he will box, fight MMA, or do both under the MF Sports banner. Misfits is a boxing promotion at its core, and Page has spent his career as one of the most striking-oriented fighters in MMA, so the natural guess is boxing. Nobody has confirmed it.
The Quotes Were Exactly What You Would Expect
“I’ve been in combat sports for a long time and I’ve had plenty of options, but MF Sports is the right fit for me,” Page said.
KSI, who co-founded the promotion, went with the obvious pitch: “Michael Venom Page is one of the biggest names in combat sports, and everyone wanted him.”
Page’s in-ring version was shorter. “I want all the smoke. All the smoke.”
Why This Is a Real Signing and Not a Novelty
Misfits has built itself on influencer fights and crossover spectacle, which has earned it a reputation among purists as something other than real combat sports.
Page is a correction to that. He is a legitimate 26-3 fighter with a UFC winning record, a highlight reel that goes back more than a decade, and a style built for exactly the kind of event Misfits puts on. He is the most credible fighter the promotion has signed.
At 39 he is also not going to get better. Misfits is buying the tail end of a career, and it is paying for name recognition as much as output. Both sides know that. For a promotion trying to be taken seriously, it is still the best money it has spent.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.