Michael Page’s UFC Exit Proves Winning Isn’t At all times Sufficient | Deadspin.com

Michael “Venom” Page did one thing that ought to be fairly troublesome to do in skilled sports activities.

He gained an excessive amount of to be known as a failure, however not sufficient folks wished to look at him win.

That could be the strangest strategy to describe the top of a UFC profession, however it’s precisely the place Page finds himself.

After 4 consecutive victories, the UFC has determined it has seen sufficient. Dana White confirmed Tuesday that Page won’t be re-signed following his unanimous determination victory over Nursulton Ruziboev at UFC Paris. Page leaves the promotion with a 5-1 document and 4 straight wins.

On paper, that may be a profitable UFC run.

In actuality, it wasn’t practically as easy.

Winning Wasn’t the Problem

Page’s greatest drawback wasn’t dropping.

It was profitable with out creating sufficient of a cause to care.

The 39-year-old entered the UFC with probably the most recognizable types in MMA. The lengthy arms, the karate stance, the dancing, the hands-down protection and the ridiculous knockout highlights from his Bellator profession made Page really feel like somebody designed in a online game.

He was completely different. In in the present day’s fight sports activities panorama completely different sells,proper? But, the UFC model of Page turned more and more conservative.

His wins over Shara Magomedov and Jared Cannonier have been spectacular on paper. His victory over Sam Patterson prolonged his profitable streak. He even moved between welterweight and middleweight trying to find the proper path.

But none of these fights ended with the form of second that made Page well-known.

Then got here Paris.

Page promised to remind everybody what “MVP” was presupposed to appear to be. Instead, he gained one other determination.

The judges gave him the victory over Ruziboev, however the battle was met with criticism and boos. Page himself acknowledged that one thing was lacking from his UFC run: the “wow factor” that had outlined him earlier than arriving within the promotion.

That is the uncomfortable half: He simply stored profitable.

It simply wasn’t entertaining sufficient.

The UFC Doesn’t Just Sell Fighters Anymore

This is the place Page’s launch turns into greater than Page.

The UFC sells the perfect fighters on the earth. But it additionally sells moments.

Knockouts. Rivalries. Personalities. Stars.

Page arrived with virtually every thing a promoter may need. He was already recognizable. He had a viral combating type. He had a nickname folks remembered. He had spent years constructing a model round being one of many strangest and most entertaining strikers in fight sports activities.

But as soon as he entered the UFC, the model and the outcomes stopped matching.

There is a distinction between being troublesome to beat and being must-see tv.

Page turned the previous.

The UFC apparently wished the latter

And that raises an even bigger query: Should profitable ever cease being sufficient?

For a championship fighter, clearly not.But Page wasn’t combating for a title. He was combating for his subsequent contract.

And at 39 years outdated, the UFC apparently determined {that a} four-fight profitable streak with no end wasn’t sufficient to justify one other one.

That’s the brutal actuality of being an expert fighter.

Somebody Else Is Going to See the Opportunity

The humorous factor is, Page’s UFC exit might be a a lot greater alternative for an additional promotion.

Jake Paul has already publicly expressed curiosity in bringing Page into the Most Valuable Promotions ecosystem.

And that’s the place this story will get actually attention-grabbing.

The UFC checked out Page and noticed a fighter who wasn’t producing sufficient pleasure.

A promotion constructed round spectacle may take a look at the very same fighter and see a star.

That does not imply Page immediately turns into a knockout machine. It means one other promoter could also be keen to construct round what makes him completely different reasonably than making an attempt to make him match a sure mildew.

MVP has the persona. He has the look. He has the spotlight reel.

And he has already confirmed that individuals know who Michael “Venom” Page is.

The query is whether or not anyone can work out how you can make folks care about what occurs subsequent.

BKFC Could Bring Back the Violence

Then there’s BKFC.

Page already is aware of the promotion. He fought Mike Perry at BKFC 27 in probably the most violent fights of his profession.

That expertise issues.

Bare-knuckle boxing does not precisely enable fighters to cover behind low-output performances. The whole enchantment is constructed round harm, aggression and spectacle.

BKFC president Dave Feldman has beforehand expressed curiosity in bringing Page again, and the promotion has a historical past of taking recognizable MMA names and giving them a very completely different platform.

Page does not essentially must turn into a special fighter.

Maybe he simply wants guidelines that reward the model of himself followers initially fell in love with.

And Then There’s Karate Combat

If we’re speaking about type, this could be probably the most fascinating choice.

Page’s putting background is constructed round motion, distance, timing and unconventional assaults. Those traits made him an ideal match for spotlight reels, however they do not at all times translate into the form of sustained motion UFC followers demand.

Karate Combat may give him a special atmosphere.

It is a promotion constructed round putting and spectacle, and the game has more and more positioned itself as a substitute vacation spot for recognizable combat-sports names.

Suddenly, Page is not the boring man who could not end opponents.

He’s the bizarre, unpredictable striker you got the ticket to see.

That’s a very completely different gross sales pitch.

And that is the place Page’s story connects to the larger evolution of fight sports activities.

For many years, the UFC was the vacation spot.

If you have been an incredible MMA fighter, you wished to get to the UFC. If you have been a former UFC fighter, leaving normally meant taking a step down.

That is not essentially true anymore.

There are extra promotions competing for recognizable fighters, and plenty of are keen to construct round persona and spectacle in ways in which look very completely different from the normal UFC mannequin.

Jake Paul is maybe the clearest instance.

He entered fight sports activities as an influencer, turned an expert boxer after which helped construct a promotional firm round the concept that the fighter might be the product.

That philosophy has unfold all through the game.

And Page is strictly the kind of fighter who can profit from it.

Anderson Silva did not want the UFC without end to stay Anderson Silva.

Neither did Mike Tyson.

Neither did Conor McGregor.

The trendy combat-sports economic system more and more offers recognizable fighters the power to turn into their very own manufacturers.

Page already is one.

Maybe the UFC Didn’t Get the Best Out of MVP

There is a good argument on the opposite aspect.

The UFC gave Page loads of alternatives.

He fought reputable opponents. He was featured on main playing cards. He acquired ranked opponents. He gained 4 straight fights.

At some level, the fighter has to ship. And Page did not.

The UFC cannot manufacture a end that is not there.

Page’s counter-striking type has at all times trusted endurance and precision. Sometimes that produces a highlight-reel knockout. Sometimes it produces quarter-hour of a fighter ready for the right alternative.

In Paris, the right alternative arrived.

Ruziboev was damage. Page landed a wonderfully positioned indirect kick. And as an alternative of swarming for the end, the battle continued.