Michael Page has signed with Misfits Boxing. He announced it himself on Saturday, standing in the ring at the crossover promotion’s Joey Essex vs. Dapper Laughs event in London, with Misfits co-founder KSI beside him and a home crowd that has watched Venom do strange, wonderful things to people since long before the UFC came calling.
Uncrowned posted the announcement clip on X, asking who saw it coming. Fair question. Misfits runs celebrity crossover bouts and influencer cards, and Page (26-3 MMA) just left the UFC on a four-fight win streak.
“I feel free. That’s all I can say, I feel free,” Page told the crowd. He said “The shackles are off,” name-checked KSI and fellow co-founder Mams Taylor, and promised big moments. He also said he wants “all the smoke,” adding “every name in the book, I’m here for it.” Then the sign-off: “Because the one and only ‘MVP’ is back.”
KSI framed the signing as a win over other suitors. “A lot of people wanted him,” he said, calling it a sign of how big the deal is for Misfits and MF Sport.
What Page will actually do there is still a blank. Neither he nor KSI said whether he’ll box, fight MMA or mix both under the Misfits banner, according to Yahoo Sports.
How the UFC run ended
Page went 5-1 in the UFC. The last four were all decisions: Shara Magomedov, Jared Cannonier, Sam Patterson and Nursulton Ruziboev. That’s a real list. Cannonier is a former title challenger, and Magomedov arrived with serious hype of his own.
The four-decision stretch is also part of why the run was divisive. The man famous for highlight-reel knockouts in Bellator spent his UFC tenure winning rounds, carefully, and plenty of fans never warmed to it.
His contract expired in September. Page wanted to re-sign. The UFC didn’t offer him a new deal.
He didn’t hide how that landed. On The Ariel Helwani Show, Page said winning should have meant staying. “Success should breed more opportunities,” he said. He told Helwani he expected the UFC to come back with a lower offer and negotiate from there, and that the way the split actually played out stung. “I found that quite disrespectful, to be fair,” he said.
Quick take
I get the eye-rolls. One r/MMA thread already wrote it off as a payday against less skilled opposition, and a 39-year-old with four straight UFC wins signing with an influencer outfit is going to read like a step down to a lot of people. But the UFC is the one that let a guy walk off four consecutive wins, including one over Cannonier, without even sending a lowball. Page didn’t pick this exit. He picked a promotion that wanted him, in his own city, with no division rankings to worry about and every incentive to let him be the showman he was in Bellator. If Misfits books him in MMA rules against someone who can actually fight back, I’m watching. If it’s a boxing match with a YouTuber, the first thing I’ll want to know is the opponent’s name, and that’s the announcement to wait for next.
