A victory in the Octagon doesn’t always guarantee the boss’s approval, a lesson Michael ‘Venom’ Page learned firsthand at UFC London. Fighting on the main card of UFC Fight Night London, headlined by Movsar Evloev vs. Lerone Murphy, Page continued his win streak by securing a unanimous decision win over fellow Englishman Sam Patterson. But as it appears, his victory—third since losing a decision to Ian Machado Garry, failed to impress the UFC boss Dana White.

Reports indicate White left the bout, which Joe Rogan called “crazy bad,” midway. While most observers felt the fight between Page and Patterson fell short of expectations, given that it even marked his return to welterweight, its outcome still carried weight for the former Bellator title challenger. Dana White‘s unexpected exit, when he was still trying to outpoint Patterson, caused quite a stir. During the post-fight conference, when a reporter brought up the matter, Page reflected on the broader perspective that actions have consequences.

“It’s just that when you’re a man in those positions, you need to remember everything that you do has a big effect,” Page said. “You create bigger waves with what you do and what you say.

“So, we just need to be, I guess, need to be mindful of those things, but he’s known to be his own man; he does what he does. But for me, it’s just going out there and performing as best as I can and next time making him sit in his seat.”

Page’s reaction and Dana White’s walkout may relate directly to the developments leading up to the fight against Patterson. To begin with, Page had publicly voiced concerns about his matchup on the UFC London card.

To begin with, Page had to wait far too long after the Jared Cannonier fight last August to get another fight booked. And when he did, it was against an unranked contender at welterweight, after he beat a ranked former title challenger in Cannornier at middleweight.

While Evloev and Murphy topped the bill, the co-main featured the featherweight match between Luke Riley and Michael Aswell. Considering his recent performances, where he secured wins over formidable opponents like Sharabutdin Magomedov and Jared Cannonier, Page expected a higher placement on the card.

Are Michael Venom Page’s comments testing Dana White’s patience?

Speaking with talkSPORT, he revealed that a friend informed him the promotion under the new Paramount deal has shifted significantly. It is now more focused on gaining viewership.

“He said it could simply be that they want to keep placing people in slightly different orders to maintain viewership,” Page said. “And that thought, whether he’s correct or not, made me think he could have a point. Obviously, we’re on a new platform now, so they might do things slightly differently. But yeah, again, initially I just found it very, very strange and disrespectful.”

Earlier, Page’s comments regarding Zuffa, Dana White’s boxing promotion, signing welterweight contender Conor Benn to a $15 million deal highlighted another angle.

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He said on Ariel Helwani’s show in February, “This is why I wasn’t initially excited about [the Paramount deal], because for me, [the bonus increase] doesn’t do enough compared to the amount of money they’ve just brought in for themselves.

To see how highly [Dana White] values people outside the sport that kind of built his reputation is just upsetting, to be fair.

“It’s disappointing how much value is placed on people outside the sport that built the brand,” he said. “I love Conor Benn, but he’s not the best in his field. Meanwhile, UFC fighters reach the top and end up broke. That shouldn’t exist.”

Taken together, Page’s outspoken views likely drew Dana White’s displeasure. The UFC CEO is not known for accepting criticism gracefully. Looking at the situation, it may appear Page is paying the price for speaking his mind.

Fans will have to stay tuned for developments on this front.