news-engine

Michael “Venom” Page left UFC Paris with a win, but he also admitted the next step in his career may require more than another scorecard. Page said he needs to change parts of his style and speak honestly with the UFC after beating Nursulton Ruziboev by unanimous decision. Page, 39, won all three official cards against Ruziboev, 29-28, but the bout drew a muted reaction after long stretches of low output. Championship Rounds posted a direct post-fight video clip in which Page addressed both the performance and his UFC future. Page said the result showed him he still has work to do if he wants the promotion to commit to another deal. The results show that I haven’t done enough. I need to push myself a little more, take a few more risks. I know there’s more. There’s not one person in the world that can stand with me. But there’s too many people that can survive with me. That’s what I need to change. My output needs to change. I might have to doctor my style a little bit, maybe adapt it so people feel more comfortable coming forward. I gotta go back to the drawing board. I gotta sit down with the UFC and have an honest conversation. I know I can do better, I’m aspiring to do better. The full source clip is below. Michael 'Venom' Page plans to change his style to introduce more volume, and hopes the UFC will re-sign him "The results show that I haven't done enough. I need to push myself a little more, take a few more risks. I know there's more. There's not one person in the world that can stand with me. But there's too many people that can survive with me. That's what I need to change. My output needs to change. I might have to doctor my style a little bit, maybe adapt it so people feel more comfortable coming forward. I gotta go back to the drawing board. I gotta sit down with the UFC and have an honest conversation. I know I can do better, I'm aspiring to do better." — Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) September 5, 2026 Page Wants More Volume After UFC Paris The contract angle matters because the Ruziboev fight was widely reported as the final bout on Page's current UFC deal. Page has gone 4-1 in the promotion, with wins over Kevin Holland, Shara Magomedov, Jared Cannonier and Ruziboev, but his counter-heavy style has also drawn criticism when opponents refuse to chase him into exchanges. UFC Paris created the opposite kind of reaction for Salahdine Parnasse, who called out Max Holloway after a first-round main-event finish. Page's win was more complicated: it kept his record strong, but it also left him talking about output, risk and a necessary conversation with the UFC. Page had already spoken during fight week about wanting to remind the UFC why it signed him. After a night where the official result went his way but the performance did not fully land with the crowd, his own answer was blunt enough. The next contract conversation may be less about whether he can still win and more about whether he can make those wins feel urgent. The issue now follows a busy UFC Paris weekend that also included Dan Hooker discussing the hostility around his Parnasse matchup. For Page, the next move is unresolved, but his own post-fight assessment made clear that he knows the UFC discussion cannot be only about the win column.