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Over the weekend, UFC CEO Dana White announced the signing of former Bellator standout Michael Page. The London-based kickboxer will make his Octagon debut against Kevin Holland at UFC 299 in March of the coming year.
And as early as now, ‘MVP’ is already drawing a line in the sand in terms of trash-talking. He is also calling for monetary sanctions for erring fighters who would take things too far.
UFC newcomer Michael ‘Venom’ Page wants changes in gamesmanship
Unlike in Bellator, the UFC is known to have a softer stance on the lines that fighters can or cannot cross. Page knows it is all part of the game, but he wants to keep it within the boundaries of what’s respectful.
“The trash talking is going to be good, but respectful,” Page said on Monday’s MMA Hour episode.
“What I’ve been seeing so far in combat sports, I hate. I don’t like people talking about people’s fathers, people’s wives, people’s girlfriends, people’s kids, all of that stuff. We need to go back to martial arts.”
Things got out of hand over the weekend on two separate occasions, both triggered by comments related to family. Leon Edwards ended up throwing a water bottle at Colby Covington during their pre-fight presser after the latter’s coarse comments about the champion’s late father.
Similarly, Sean Strickland got into a brawl with Dricus Du Plessis in the stands on fight night. The ruckus stemmed from Du Plessis’ statements about Strickland’s childhood and the abuse he endured at the hands of his father.
For Page, anything that isn’t related to the fight should be left out of the conversation.
“Everyone seems to have lost themselves a little bit. I have zero respect for people that feel the need to go that way. We’re skillful athletes, and that should be enough.
“I’m all for the banter, I’m all for the jokes and keeping it kind of friendly, and that should be enough to build a fight. We can keep the intensity, but it should stay between me and the person that’s fighting, and that’s it.”
Page calls for imposed fines on erring fighters
Unfortunately, using personal attacks to sell fights has become a trend in MMA today, particularly in the UFC. Page understands that such actions draw eyeballs and eventual revenue, but at the same time, he wants monetary sanctions in return.
“It’s insane. Just do something to kind of alleviate [the problem] – if you’re going to step over the line, I’m not going to punish you open to the public because it sells, I guess, but there you go.
“Have that fine. Let’s see how often you’re going to want to do things like that, like the yellow card in football. You don’t want to promote things the wrong way.”
To their credit, the UFC did take action in the past. In 2013, superstar Nate Diaz received a $20,000 fine and a three-month suspension for this tweet directed at Bryan Caraway:
At the time, Diaz expressed disappointment in the UFC’s decision to award Caraway a $65K bonus for a submission win at UFC 159. The extra money came from a supposed reward for Pat Healy, who defeated Jim Miller that same night. Healy, however, had his win overturned to a No Contest after testing positive for cannabis.
However, in recent years, the organization has chosen to take a different stance.
‘This is the fight business’
You’ve likely heard UFC CEO Dana White repeatedly uttered this line whenever his fighters draw attention for trash-talking. And as long as it draws in the dollars, the bossman is happy.
Here was his reaction when asked about Covington’s remarks about Edwards’ father.
“After that press conference — or during, in the middle, whatever — pay-per-view shot up 25%. And our analytical team wasn’t basing it on YouTube views. They were basing it off actual pre-buys while the press conference was going on,” White told the media during the post-fight presser.
“25%. Globally, too. Not just on ESPN. Which is fascinating. Absolutely fascinating.”
The UFC will have its own brand of trash talk, and Page will just have to live with it.
Headlining UFC 299 is a rematch between Sean O’Malley and Marlon Vera. Given the history between these two, fans can also expect an incendiary build-up.
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