Michael ‘Venom’ Page pumped the breaks on the Shara Magomedov hype train.
The fast-rising Russian star entered the fight with an unblemished 15-0 record including four straight wins inside the UFC.
Several members of the MMA fraternity had touted Magomedov as a world champion in waiting but Page proved the surging contender still has a lot to learn by handing him his first defeat via unanimous decision.
From the off, MVP came out of the gates looking super slick and managed to send Magomedov to the canvas briefly with a clubbing right hand.
The Englishman maintained his distance well with his feet as he burst in and out of range with explosive strikes.
Magomedov threatened with his trademark spinning back fist but missed the target narrowly multiple times.
In the second round, it was more of the same with Page making Shara Bullet miss and pay.
Magomedov, usually a high-output striker, struggled to get his work off as Page neutralised him with his unorthodox striking and movement patterns.
The chopping right hand continually landed for Page all night while Magomedov appeared to second guess his work.
Heading into the final frame, Magomedov’s corner urged their fighter to leave it all in the cage and so he came out for the third round with renewed vigour.
Magomedov pilled on the pressure and began to find a home for some sharp combinations but it was too little, too late.
In the end, all three judges scored the contest in MVP’s favour.
One had it 29-28 while the other two scored all three rounds to Page at 30-27.
After the fight, Page – who was fighting at middleweight for the first time – insisted Magomedov has immense potential and will one day realise his dream as a UFC champion.
“Everybody look at me, I am the captain now,” he said.
“Nothing but respect for Shara, he is a hell of a fighter.
“He will be a world champion after this loss.”
Ahead of Magomedov’s debut against Bruno Silva in October last year, there was a lot of media attention surrounding his eye condition.
The 30-year-old middleweight contender injured his right eye in 2016 and due to a lack of care, the condition worsened.
His eye required eight surgeries over the course of roughly a year and a half and he is now completely blind on his right side.
It is certainly an incredible feat to be competing with such heavily obscured vision, but he is not the first UFC fighter to have done so.
Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping, fought with one eye for several years, stemming from an injury sustained in a knockout defeat to Vitor Belfort in 2013.
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