Michael Page says his Dana White problem started on day one. Speaking to ESPN on Thursday, the former UFC welterweight and middleweight called his relationship with the UFC CEO “non-existent” and said White was “never a fan of me from beginning.”
That’s a blunt read on a run that confused people while it was still happening. Page came over from Bellator in March 2024 as one of the bigger free-agent signings of the decade. MMA Fighting noted that his arrival was announced almost as an aside during a White post-event press conference, which says plenty about how the signing landed internally.
The results were good. Page beat Kevin Holland at welterweight in his UFC 299 debut, then lost to Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303 in June 2024. He moved up to middleweight and beat Shara Magomedov and former title challenger Jared Cannonier. He dropped back to 170 to beat Sam Patterson at The O2 in London on March 21, 2026, and closed with a decision over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris in September. That’s five straight wins, a 5-1 record, and rankings in two divisions. In September, White announced Page would not be re-signed.
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The catch, as Yahoo Sports pointed out, is that none of those wins came with the highlight-reel knockouts that made him a Bellator favorite. Page, 39, sees the creative restrictions as part of the story. He told The Stomping Ground he feels “free of the shackles” now, explaining that the UFC wouldn’t let him do his walkouts, entrances and exits his way. He also said he was top 10 in two weight classes and “I was calling out everybody, wasn’t getting any feedback.”
He went further with Uncrowned, saying the modern UFC has drifted away from finding the most skilled martial artist. “I think it’s a little bit of a factory line, and we’re just catering for the bar casuals that just want blood,” Page said.
Misfits money
KSI unveiled Page as Misfits Boxing’s newest signing at the promotion’s London event on October 10. On The Ariel Helwani Show, Page said the deal covers three fights, boxing or MMA, each with a seven-figure purse, which adds up to more than he made across his whole UFC run. The contract runs 18 months and is exclusive, though he’s still free to take Real American Freestyle wrestling matches.
Page said he’ll definitely have an MMA fight under the Misfits banner and that boxing is on the table too. His next boxing bout would be his third, after knockout wins in 2017 and 2018, plus a 2022 bare-knuckle points loss to Mike Perry. The names he floated: Darren Till, who Page believes still owes Misfits a fight; Tommy Fury in a boxing ring; and Tony Ferguson or Nate Diaz if either wants it. He’d like to fight once more before 2027 but admitted the timing might not work out.
My take: the UFC got the patient, measured version of MVP, the guy who picks you apart on the scorecards, and treated five straight wins like a rounding error. Fair enough if they wanted knockouts. But you can’t strip a showman of his walkout and then act bored that he isn’t putting on a show. Misfits is paying him to be the full version of himself. Put Till across the cage and let Page do the whole entrance. I’m watching that one.
