Michael Page questions UFC treatment after exit

Michael Page believes the UFC handled his departure disrespectfully

Michael Page believes the UFC could have parted ways with him in a more respectful manner. Michael Page ended his UFC contract with a rather unconvincing points victory by unanimous decision against Nursulton Ruziboev. He was subsequently denied an interview and was then removed from the official UFC rankings. UFC President Dana White later confirmed that his contract would not be renewed.

Michael Page finished with a 5-1 record in the UFC and was on a four-fight winning streak when his contract expired. Therefore, he believes he deserved at least one more contract negotiation before the UFC simply let him go.

“I had goals to achieve and regardless of anything, I was winning my fights, which says to me you get to stay. That's the premise of this game, is success should breed more opportunities. So, I still felt like we'll sit down at the table… I felt what may happen is they just say, ‘Look, we can re-sign you, but it's going to be a lot less,’ and we work from there. But I wouldn't have expected it to be dealt with in the way that it was dealt with. I found that quite disrespectful, to be fair”

he told Ariel Helwani.

During his time with his previous promotion, Bellator, he was known for his spectacular knockouts. He parted ways with the organization in 2023 when it was acquired by the PFL and subsequently signed with the UFC. Unfortunately, Michael Page was barely able to bring his spectacular fighting style to the UFC, and fans often criticized his approach. He wasn’t able to secure a single early victory. What’s especially tough is that he was denied things like interviews, which are actually always a good opportunity for fighters to defend themselves. He himself seems pretty disappointed with the UFC for exactly this reason. Do you think the UFC’s decision is fair, or do you also think it goes a step too far?

I just don’t quite understand why he’s being denied interviews. If a fighter is no longer worth it and they don’t want to renew his contract, that’s one thing, but not letting him speak seems a bit weak to me. What do you think?