Michael ‘Venom’ Page Rejects Underdog Label Ahead of Shara Magomedov Fight: “People Underestimate Me”
Despite what the bookmakers say, Michael ‘Venom’ Page doesn’t see himself as an underdog against undefeated Russian sensation Shara Magomedov.
Emanating from ANB Arena in Riyadh, the UFC will return to Saudi Arabia with a loaded Fight Night card headlined by the return of former two-time middleweight titleholder Israel Adesanya. The Last Stylebender’ will meet rising contender Nassourdine Imavov in the evening’s headliner while Michael Page will have his hands full against Shara ‘Bullet’ in the co-main event.
As it stands, ‘Venom’ is listed as a +150 underdog while the 15-0 Magomedov is favored to come out on top at -175. However, none of that means anything to Page who believes styles make fights and nobody has a style quite like his.
“I think coming into the UFC, there’s a lot of question marks still,” Page said in an interview via PokerScout.com. “People still underestimated my abilities. But now that I’ve got there, I’ve gone there now, and I obviously had a couple of fights, but in those couple of fights, people have seen my ability now. I don’t see myself as the underdog in this one at all. I want to challenge myself against him and kind of see how my style fits and matches. So it’s just pure excitement.”
‘Venom’ seeks a second win UFC win against the unbeaten ‘Bullet’
Thus far, Page is 1-1 in his UFC run. He scored a unanimous decision win in his promotional debut against Kevin Holland before suffering his first loss inside the Octagon against Ian Machado Garry at UFC 303.
Meanwhile, Magomedov has dispatched his first four UFC opponents, the most recent coming against Arman Petrosyan when he scored an absolutely insane double spinning back fist knockout against the Armenian.
