Michael ‘Venom’ Page has fought his final UFC bout for the foreseeable future.
That sentence would have sounded fairly ordinary if Page had lost his way through the promotion. Instead, he leaves with five wins from six UFC fights, a four-fight winning streak and victories over names including Kevin Holland, Shara Magomedov and Jared Cannonier.
His final appearance came against Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris on 5 September. Page won by unanimous decision, completing the last fight on his existing contract and improving his overall professional MMA record to 26-3.
There was still some uncertainty over whether the UFC would offer him another deal. That disappeared a few days later when Dana White confirmed that Page was not expected to be re-signed.
So why is a fighter with a 5-1 UFC record suddenly a free agent?
The answer has less to do with whether Page was capable of winning UFC fights and more to do with what those fights actually looked like.
Has Michael ‘Venom’ Page Left the UFC?
Yes. Michael Page’s existing UFC contract finished after his victory over Nursulton Ruziboev in Paris, and the promotion has decided not to offer him a new deal.
Dana White confirmed the decision after Page was removed from UFC rankings eligibility following the event.
There is an important distinction here. MVP was not released halfway through a contract.
He completed the deal he had signed with the UFC. Once the final fight was over, both sides were free to negotiate another agreement, but the promotion chose not to continue the relationship.
That means the 39-year-old is now a free agent. It is a surprising end when viewed purely through results. Page joined the UFC as one of the most recognisable fighters to arrive from outside the promotion and lost only once during his entire run.
His final result can be found alongside the rest of the weekend’s action in our regularly updated UFC results guide.
Why Did the UFC Not Re-Sign Michael Page?
The UFC has not released a detailed explanation listing every reason behind its decision, so it would be wrong to claim there is one confirmed factor. The context, however, is difficult to ignore.
Page kept winning, but several of those victories produced a very different reaction from the spectacular performances that built his reputation before he arrived in the UFC.
His final fight against Ruziboev was the clearest example.
Page won all three rounds on the judges’ scorecards, yet landed only 12 significant strikes across 15 minutes. Large sections of the fight passed without sustained exchanges and the Paris crowd became increasingly frustrated. Page knew it himself.
Afterwards, he admitted that he had been too cautious and spoke about needing to take more risks rather than constantly waiting for the perfect opening.
It was not the first time that conversation had followed one of his fights.
Page’s victory over Sam Patterson at UFC London earlier in 2026 also drew boos from sections of the crowd. Once again, he had done enough to win comfortably without producing much of the chaos normally associated with the MVP name.
For a fighter entering the final stages of his career and negotiating a new contract, the difference between winning and creating fights people want to watch appears to have become important.
Michael Page’s UFC Record
Page finishes his UFC run with an excellent 5-1 record.
His six appearances were:
- Beat Kevin Holland – unanimous decision
- Lost to Ian Machado Garry – unanimous decision
- Beat Shara Magomedov – unanimous decision
- Beat Jared Cannonier – unanimous decision
- Beat Sam Patterson – unanimous decision
- Beat Nursulton Ruziboev – unanimous decision
There is one statistic that immediately stands out.
Every Michael Page UFC fight went to a decision.
That is unusual when compared with the career he had built before signing.
Page has 13 knockout victories across his professional MMA record and became famous for producing finishes that looked more like something from a video game than a conventional MMA fight. His flying knee against Evangelista Santos remains one of the most recognisable knockouts of his career.
That version of Page never quite appeared consistently inside the Octagon.
He could still make high-level UFC fighters miss. His reactions remained exceptional and opponents clearly struggled to understand his timing. What disappeared was the finishing threat that had made those movements so exciting in the first place.
Did Michael Page Fail in the UFC?
No, certainly not from a competitive point of view. A 5-1 record makes that difficult to argue.
Page beat Kevin Holland in his UFC debut before losing a competitive decision to Ian Machado Garry, who used his grappling and control to neutralise much of Page’s striking. That remained Page’s only UFC defeat.
He then moved to middleweight and produced arguably the two strongest results of his run, beating Shara Magomedov and former title challenger Jared Cannonier. Page later returned to welterweight to defeat Sam Patterson before moving back to 185lb for the Ruziboev fight. It means he leaves having beaten opponents across two divisions.
He was also ranked at middleweight before the UFC removed him from rankings eligibility once his contract ended.
Competitive success and promotional success are not always exactly the same thing, though.
The UFC did not sign Page simply because it thought he could edge out opponents over three rounds. He arrived with a reputation for creativity, showmanship and violent finishes.
That created expectations his actual UFC run never completely matched.
Page nevertheless deserves his place among the greatest British UFC fighters when the results of his short spell are considered.
Why Was Michael Page Removed From the UFC Rankings?
Page was removed from rankings eligibility shortly after UFC Paris because he was no longer going to remain on the active UFC roster.
That move actually provided the first major clue that a new contract was not coming.
Page had been ranked at middleweight before the Paris event and had just added another victory over Ruziboev. Ordinarily, winning would not lead to a fighter suddenly disappearing from the rankings.
The reason became clear once Dana White confirmed that the UFC did not intend to re-sign him.
Rankings are designed to represent active fighters competing within the promotion. Once Page became a free agent, there was little reason for him to continue occupying a position.
Our UFC rankings 2026 page tracks how every division changes as fighters win, lose, move weight classes or leave the promotion.
Why Was Michael Page’s UFC Style So Different?
Page did not suddenly forget how to fight when he joined the UFC.
If anything, some of the criticism surrounding him comes from how good he became at controlling fights without taking unnecessary risks. His style has always been unusual.
He operates from long range, constantly changes his stance and rarely throws combinations simply for the sake of producing volume. Instead, Page wants opponents to enter his space first. Once they do, his speed and timing allow him to counter before moving away again.
The problem is what happens when the opponent refuses to cooperate.
Page himself has spoken about fighters becoming unusually cautious against him. They know the highlight reel. They know what can happen if they chase him recklessly. That can create a stalemate.
Page waits for an opponent to create an opening. The opponent waits because they do not want to become the next viral knockout.
Technically, Page can still win that kind of fight. Entertainment-wise, it can become a difficult watch.
Former UFC champion Robert Whittaker made essentially that point after the Ruziboev fight. He praised Page’s ability to understand exactly what he needed to do to win rounds while admitting that watching the fight itself was frustrating.
That distinction goes a long way towards explaining why Page’s UFC record looks much more impressive than the reaction to his run sometimes suggests.
What Happened in Michael Page vs Nursulton Ruziboev?
Page defeated Ruziboev by unanimous decision at UFC Paris, with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28. It should have been the ideal negotiating position.
Page knew beforehand that it was the last fight on his contract and had openly discussed wanting to remind the UFC what made him exciting enough to sign in the first place.
Instead, the fight developed into another tactical contest.
Ruziboev secured some control early, while Page did enough with his movement and occasional striking to take the later rounds. Neither fighter consistently forced exchanges and the crowd made its disappointment obvious. Page ultimately landed only 12 significant strikes.
He got the result he needed but not the performance he had been looking for.
That makes the timing of the UFC decision easier to understand. Page had one final opportunity to produce the sort of performance that could strengthen his negotiating position, and even he admitted afterwards that he had held something back.
What Did Michael Page Say About His UFC Future?
Before Paris, Page made it clear that he wanted to remain in the UFC. He was not simply fighting out his deal with the intention of immediately going somewhere else.
Page believed he still had enough ability to challenge highly ranked opponents and had spoken about wanting a clearer route towards a UFC title, particularly at middleweight.
His comments immediately after beating Ruziboev were similar.
Rather than celebrating the performance, Page criticised himself. He said he wanted to take more chances, create more action and find a way of adapting his style without completely removing what makes him effective.
At that stage, he was still talking about sitting down with the UFC and discussing another deal. The promotion has now made that decision for him.
What Is Michael Page’s MMA Record?
Michael Page’s professional record now stands at 26 wins and three defeats.
Of those 26 victories:
- 13 have come by knockout or TKO
- 3 have come by submission
- 10 have come by decision
His three professional MMA defeats came against Douglas Lima, Logan Storley and Ian Machado Garry. Page later avenged the Lima loss during his Bellator career.
His record is particularly interesting because the final six fights of his UFC run account for six consecutive decisions. Before joining the promotion, violent finishes had been a much more prominent part of his identity.
That contrast is one reason his UFC spell will probably remain difficult to judge. He proved that his style could work against UFC-level opposition.
What he did not do was reproduce the highlight-reel version of MVP often enough.
What Happens Next for Michael Page?
For the moment, there is no confirmed next fight.
Page is a free agent, which gives him significantly more freedom than he had while under UFC contract.
Another MMA promotion could make an offer. Page also has professional boxing experience, having won both of his previous boxing bouts by knockout, so crossover opportunities cannot be completely dismissed either.
None of those routes has been confirmed.
His age will inevitably play a part in whatever comes next. Page turned 39 in April and is unlikely to want to spend several years slowly rebuilding towards another opportunity.
The attraction for another promotion is obvious, though.
He remains a recognisable British fighter, carries a 26-3 professional record and has just left the UFC on a four-fight winning streak. This is not somebody looking for a new home after being repeatedly beaten. That should give Page options.
Could Michael Page Ever Return to the UFC?
Never say never in MMA, but there is currently no indication that a UFC return is planned.
Dana White’s comments were fairly clear about the immediate situation: the promotion does not intend to sign Page to another contract. Circumstances can change.
A strong run elsewhere, a major fight becoming available or simply the UFC needing an experienced opponent could reopen that conversation in the future.
For now, though, Page should be viewed as a former UFC fighter rather than somebody temporarily between deals.
His UFC chapter lasted six fights.
It produced five victories, one defeat and absolutely no simple conclusion.
Page proved he could compete with ranked opposition. He also discovered that winning alone does not always guarantee another contract.
What Does Michael Page’s UFC Exit Mean?
Michael Page leaves the UFC with one of the strangest records you will find from a fighter whose contract was not renewed.
He was not washed out of the promotion, was not cut following a losing streak and he did not leave after being badly exposed against elite competition.
He went 5-1 and won his final four fights.
The problem was that the performances underneath those numbers increasingly failed to resemble the fighter the UFC thought it was signing.
MVP arrived with one of MMA’s most spectacular highlight reels. He leaves having gone the distance in every single UFC appearance. That does not make the run unsuccessful. It makes it complicated.
Whatever Page chooses next, his time in the UFC answered one long-running question. His unusual style was good enough to beat high-level fighters inside the Octagon.
It just did not consistently produce the kind of fights the promotion wanted enough to offer him another contract.
For the cards continuing without him, see our UFC schedule 2026 or follow the latest fighter news, results and event coverage through the BetVictor UFC and MMA hub.
