UFC CEO Dana White explained why the promotion opted not to re-sign Michael Page.
Page fought out his UFC contract at UFC Paris and picked up a decision win over Nursulton Ruziboev, which was a rather lackluster fight. When Page signed with the UFC, there was plenty of hype around him as he had multiple highlight-reel finishes in Bellator.
However, in the UFC, Page didn’t have a finish, as all six of his UFC fights went the distance and were rather lackluster. So, despite Page going 5-1 in the UFC, the promotion opted not to re-sign him, which was a matchmaker’s decision, according to White.
“At the end of the day, matchmakers make the decision on who stays and who goes. They didn’t want to re-sign him,” White said to the media.
The matchmakers obviously wanted more entertaining fights, and Page wasn’t giving them that, so they decided to move on. Page ended his UFC tenure on a four-fight winning streak as his lone loss was to Ian Machado Garry as ‘MVP’ bounced between welterweight and middleweight in the UFC.
Michael Page wanted to re-sign with the UFC
After Page’s win at UFC Paris, he admitted his performance against Ruziboev wasn’t great, and he admitted he needed to take more risks.
However, he said that he wanted to sit down with the UFC brass and re-sign, as he promised to deliver more entertaining fights and finishes.
“I sit down with the UFC, have a honest conversation,” Page said to UFC News. “I’m going to say, ‘Look, man, I know I could do better. I’m aspiring to do better. I’m up there. Give me better opponents and have faith that I can go deliver something special for the crowd.’”
Page is 26-3 as a pro and riding a four-fight winning streak. With ‘MVP’ a free agent, other promotions such as PFL, BKFC, or Scott Coker’s new promotion could show interest in him.
Are you surprised the UFC opted not to re-sign Michael Page?
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