For most of his career, Michael ‘Venom’ Page maintained his reputation as one of the most entertaining fighters in MMA. However, at UFC London, the veteran British fighter’s reputation took a hit after his main card fight with Sam Patterson turned out to be a snoozer.

After dominating Jared Cannonier in his last fight in the middleweight division, fans expected Page to deliver a similar showing against 170 lbs prospect Sam Patterson. The stage was set at the O2 Arena for ‘Venom’ to put on a masterclass, but the fight ended up disappointing everyone as it turned out to be highly underwhelming.

In the 15-minute fight, Michael Page attempted only 61 total strikes and landed just 33, while only 27 of those were counted as significant strikes, as per the ESPN FightCenter. On the other hand, his opponent, Sam Patterson, also showed very little intent, landing only 25 total strikes out of 78 attempted, with just 12 counted as significant. But in the end, the judges declared ‘Venom’ victorious via unanimous decision. 

Now, for a fighter like ‘MVP’, who has numerous finishes in his MMA career, that was definitely a dull outing and completely unexpected. The reason? Well, the Englishman had looked sharp while dealing with top middleweights like Jared Cannonier and Shara Magomedov in his recent fights. But whenever Page steps into the welterweight division, he may still look decent, yet the firepower often seems like a missing element, especially against an opponent like Sam Patterson, who doesn’t tend to move forward much with his strikes.

All in all, it has to be accepted that ‘Venom’s clash against Patterson ended up being very underwhelming, giving fans flashbacks of Francis Ngannou vs Derrick Lewis. After that lackluster showdown, fans were livid about how the fight turned out and didn’t hold back with their reactions, with many directly demanding that the UFC cut Michael ‘Venom’ Page and his opponent from the roster.

Fans react to Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s underwhelming UFC London fight  

One fan quickly chimed in and angrily wrote, “Cut them both.” Then another followed with the same intensity, “What fight!? Nobody deserved a win from that nonsense.”

Even though both fighters failed to live up to the audience’s expectations, Michael Page secured the victory via unanimous decision. But according to one fan, that win shouldn’t even count on his professional record, writing, “They should’ve scored it a no contest because that was not a fight.”

As the backlash piled up against the Englishman, another fan targeted ‘MVP’ while referencing his recent comments about UFC fighter pay.

“These are the set of fighters that complain about Dana not paying well. And they go on to put on a pathetic display like this. MVP is a disgrace. He should never fight again.”

For the unversed, ‘Venom’ has been very vocal about how UFC fighters are underpaid under the current system of Paramount+, especially after Dana White and the promotion signed a $15 million deal with Zuffa Boxing. So here, the user pointed out that the veteran fighter shouldn’t complain about pay if he delivers lackluster performances like this.

Continuing the wave of criticism, another fan wrote, “Michael Venom Page is a fraud snoozer. Every single fight of his goes like this.” Another user admitted the fight was boring but still felt the decision was correct, writing, “So boring but definitely the right decision.”

While many fans were grilling ‘MVP’, one supporter offered a different perspective, writing, “MVP didn’t lose that fight against Garry, he hasn’t lost to anyone in the UFC, we need him to fight someone in the top 5.”

And that’s true. Even though Michael ‘Venom’ Page didn’t deliver the most entertaining performance of his career, he still secured the win at UFC London and is now riding a three-fight winning streak. 

That said, after such a dull outing, it remains to be seen whether the UFC will give him another opponent from the welterweight division or move him back to middleweight. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.