Michael ‘Venom’ Page Discusses PFL-Bellator Merger, ‘Flirting’ With UFC

One of MMA’s most intriguing free agents is weighing his options in the wake of his former promotion’s recent high-profile merger.

Michael Page (21-2), former Bellator MMA welterweight title challenger and longtime star, announced free agency earlier this year after parting ways with his former organization. Known for a plethora of highlight-reel knockouts, Paige was immediately courted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. However, Page claims things haven’t moved beyond courtship with the UFC, though he recently had his first in-person interaction with its CEO, Dana White. “MVP” said on ‘The MMA Fan Show’:

“I wish I could say for certain that we have or we haven’t. Honestly speaking, we’re not there yet. There’s still a few hurdles we need to jump over, but like I said, we’re flirting.”

Page’s former promotion was recently acquired by the Professional Fighters League, with some of its biggest stars on hand at last week’s PFL World Championships for photo ops with their future co-workers. The 36-year-old admits that while a lot of his most desired matchups are still in the UFC, the promotion is no longer the only dream destination for fighters. The Englishman said:

“It’s difficult to say because I think there’s dream fights and a lot of those dream fights land in the UFC. How I feel now to how I felt when I first joined MMA—you first join MMA, the whole goal was UFC because there was no other big shows that could really do anything. Over time, things have changed. It’s a lot more than just the name of the brand, there’s a lot more to it now. But ultimately, we can still get there and see those dream fights happen.”

“I think PFL by itself is definitely an interesting location to go to especially with their development, I can kind of see their progression. I wouldn’t re-sign with Bellator even though it feels like it’s essentially not signing with them if you know what I mean, but I just wouldn’t.”

Page amassed a 17-2 record in the Bellator cage, with his only setbacks coming against Douglas Lima in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix semifinal in 2019, and in an interim title bout against Logan Storly in 2022. In his most recent appearance, at Bellator 292 in March, Page scored a first-round TKO of Goiti Yamauchi via leg kicks.