Michael “Venom” Page has arrived in the UFC.
The 36-year-old made his promotional debut after a successful run with Bellator and immediately made a statement. Page easily won a unanimous decision over perennial contender Kevin Holland on the main card.
Page won 29-28 on all three of the judge’s cards, but you could have argued that he could’ve won all three rounds. Page’s speed mesmerized Holland throughout. He so frequently landed a lead right hand and body kick that Holland could be heard telling his corner, “He’s faster than we thought,” between the first and second rounds.
Near the end of the second frame, Holland was clearly broken mentally. He couldn’t land on Page cleanly.
Holland managed to secure a takedown in the second frame, but Page avoided serious damage and got back to his feet. Page didn’t just dominate the action; he put on a show during the process. The point fighter danced and postured to the crowd’s delight while controlling the fight.
Page came to the cage during his Octagon walk to the WWE Undertaker’s theme. Holland was ranked 13th coming into the fight. Page will be ranked there or higher in the next UFC rankings.
The next question is when he will appear in EA UFC 5. That is a question for another article. The bottom line is Page is positioned to be one of the more magnetic stars in the UFC this year and perhaps beyond.
It will be interesting to see what happens if and when Page is matched up with a pure wrestler.
That’s the next test for the UFC’s newest star, but at the very least, Page has our attention.
