Michael Page has put a number on his exit from the UFC, and it’s a big one. Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show days after signing with Misfits Boxing, the 39-year-old known as Venom said his new three-fight deal will pay him more than his entire UFC contract did, at seven figures per fight.
“I’ve left the UFC and now I’m making more money. I’m making 2x more, just over, and in a shorter period,” Page told Helwani. He went further, adding that “in the three fight deal I’ll make more than I did in my entire UFC contract.”
Sherdog framed it in plain arithmetic on X: three Misfits fights against six UFC bouts combined. Page said other promotions came calling too, but Misfits made an offer nobody else matched. “Misfits came with a crazy deal, an absolutely crazy deal which means I’ve only continued to grow and get better financially,” he said. He also pointed to personal ties, saying “KSI is my boy” and noting he’d worked with the Misfits team before. According to Page, the company wants to get an MMA show off the ground and wants him leading it.
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How the UFC run ended
Page signed with the UFC in 2024, and at the time it was treated as a major get. The British striker had built a reputation on flash and highlight-reel finishes, which made his UFC stint stranger in hindsight. He fought six times for the promotion and never finished anyone. All six went to the judges, per Bloody Elbow.
The UFC cut him earlier this year, closing out a stay of roughly two years. Dana White has said the matchmakers made the call and simply didn’t want him on the roster anymore.
Page didn’t hold back on the broader pay conversation either. With middleweight champion Sean Strickland in his own ongoing dispute with the UFC over money, Page said the promotion should be embarrassed. “For me, it’d be embarrassing that my champions were complaining, I would personally want to rectify that,” he said. He also pointed to how the business has shifted, noting “there are no pay-per-views anymore.”
Who’s next
No opponent or date has been announced for his Misfits debut. The roster is thin on established names, though Tony Ferguson is there, and Darren Till has fought under the Misfits banner before, which makes him an obvious name to float. Bloody Elbow also listed Tommy Fury as a possibility, with Fury looking to get back in the ring after beating Eddie Hall earlier this year.
Here’s my read. Six decisions and a release, and Page walks into a deal worth double, for half the fights. That says more about where the money sits in combat sports right now than it does about his output in the Octagon, which, to be fair, never matched the hype that came with his signing. A 39-year-old who spent two years grinding out decisions for a promotion that didn’t want to keep him has every reason to take the check, and nobody should pretend otherwise. The part worth watching is the Misfits MMA show he says he’ll front. If it happens, Page gets to be the headliner again, a role the UFC matchmakers clearly weren’t going to hand him.
