Michael ‘Venom’ Page has expressed his burning desire to fight Leon Edwards in what would be an all-time classic British showdown.
In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com, Page said he has ‘envisioned’ a fight with his British counterpart, adding that the ‘exceptional’ clash must happen in the UK.
He also refused to rule out an appearance at UFC London in March, which is headlined by Edwards as he takes on Australia’s Jack Della Maddalena.
“Yeah, it’s the one I’ve called out many times,” Page said, speaking on a fight with Edwards.
“When I envisioned it, it was with him still having the belt, you know, and I thought, yeah, let’s bring it to the UK.
“Me and him, UK headline fight. I think that would just be exceptional.
“It’s great for the UK crowd, just for all the up and coming UK talents coming through to see that. That would be exceptional.
“But even with or without the belt, I think that’s just a great fight. But it has to happen in the UK.
“I would not take that fight anywhere else.”
The bout between Edwards and Della Maddalena will likely decide who is to contest for the UFC middleweight title next.
Edwards is a former UFC champion, having held the welterweight title for two years between 2022 and 2024.
He – just like Page – is aiming for a shot at welterweight gold after dropping the title to Belal Muhammad at UFC Manchester last July.
However, this is the same division that is set to be attacked by Page, who revealed it is ‘100 per cent’ his goal to win the UFC welterweight strap.
“I want to take something away from my years of just putting my body through a lot of hell,” Page said.
“And just the journey, it’ll be nice to come out with something.”
Page only made his UFC debut last year after ten successful years with Bellator MMA, but has his heart set on gold in Dana White’s promotion.
The 37-year-old debuted in the welterweight (170lbs) division, trading a win and a loss to Kevin Holland and Ian Machado Garry, before moving up to middleweight (180lbs) for his fight with Shara Magomedov this month.
‘Venom’ was a big underdog heading into the co-main event bout at UFC Saudi Arabia, but taught the one-eyed Russian a lesson to claim a unanimous decision victory.
Michael Page UFC record
Two wins, one defeat
The UFC returns to London’s O2 Arena on March 22, which comes almost two months since Page took on Magomedov.
The London man cited the lack of damage he took during that fight as a reason why he could be ready to step in for the UK card.
“It may be, but I’d literally put my hand up,” Page said, when asked if fighting at UFC London would be too quick of a turnaround to make the weight cut for.
“If you want to, have me as a spare, just in case somebody drops out, I’ll put my hand up to do that.
“If they’re going to have me as a spare, then I’m going to have to… But if not, there’s another card directly after in Miami, I believe, so I’d love to at least be ready for that.”
Page made his UFC debut against Kevin Holland last March at UFC 299, claiming a unanimous decision victory in what was a highly anticipated bout.
Both men had MMA fans very excited due to their unorthodox, and highly entertaining fight style, which has cemented Page as one of the more recognisable fighters in the sport.
Many thought Page would prefer to remain in the middleweight division following his win over Magomedov, who was undefeated in 15 pro MMA fights going into the clash, but the London man has proved that consensus to be wrong.
“No, actually, it’s a weird one,” Page added, rejecting the idea of remaining at middleweight.
“If I can get a quick turnaround fight and it means maybe putting less stress on my body, then yeah, maybe I do another middleweight fight.
“But the goal is 100 per cent to get a welterweight title shot, which means I have to be active at welterweight.
“So if given enough time, I believe I can do it, then I’ll cut down to welterweight again for the next fight.”
Muhammad is the current UFC welterweight champion, having beaten Edwards via unanimous decision at UFC 304.
Edwards first won the belt with an incredible head kick win over Kamaru Usman in August 2022 and defended it against the Nigerian in their rematch seven months later.
‘Rocky’ then made easy work of Colby Covington in his second defence of the 170lb title, before losing it to Muhammad.
Muhammad was scheduled to make his first defence of the belt at UFC 310 against Shavkat Rakhmonov in December, but withdrew from the fight after suffering a nasty bone infection.
He is likely to make a return in 2025 and defend it against Rakhmonov, who defeated Garry at UFC 310 in a No.1 contender bout for the title.
“I’m so excited to go back [to welterweight] because there’s so many great fights to be had,” Page concluded.
“Every single person you mentioned is an exciting fight. And it’s a fight I would want in the near future, hopefully.
“I just think the Welterweight division is such an exciting place. So many talented fighters. I’m just a martial artist.
“I just love trying to put my skills up against other people that I can… I love to see great martial arts and a lot of these guys in their own way.
“They’re just talented fighters. But I always see myself, I’m like, yeah, I should do this and I’ll do that, and I want to put myself up against them.”
Liverpudlian fan-favourite Molly McCann is set to feature at UFC London, alongisde Tom Aspinall’s heavyweight sparring partner Mick Parkin.
Jan Blachowicz takes on Carlos Ulberg in the co-main event, Jai Herbert fights Chris Padilla, and Gunnar Nelson takes on Holland.