When it comes to showmen in the world of mixed martial arts, Michael “Venom” Page is in a class of his own. Whether it be taking a faux selfie while pummeling an opponent to celebrating a knockout by putting on a Pokémon cap and rolling a toy Pokéball at his befallen challenger, Page’s bouts are worth the price of admission.
Page kicked his UFC career exactly as he had expected to as the Brit defeated Kevin Holland by unanimous decision while showcasing his signature flair. With a wider audience to entertain, Page has one goal and that’s to get the belt. He would love nothing more if that fight was with current welterweight champ and fellow UK native Leon Edwards in a packed stadium in the UK, which is something that hasn’t been done before in the UFC.
Such lofty goals aren’t achieved with the required work to see them come to fruition. And while he’ll will be watching this weekend’s historic UFC 300 from outside the Octagon, “MVP” spoke with Muscle & Fitness on why pressure inside the Octagon is merely a word to him, the behind-the-scenes work for why that is and what he dreads most about training.
Kishan Lakhani
Michael ‘Venom’ Page Shares How He Handles Pressure
During the post-fight press conference following UFC 299, UFC CEO Dana White acknowledged a sellout crowd at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida and that it was the fourth highest-grossing UFC event of all time. The pay-per-view numbers also have yet to be announced. This level of exposure is part of the reason Page made the decision to leave Bellator for the UFC. With a wider audience now and his reputation, come a new level of expectations for Page. Just don’t expect him to feel any of that weight.
“I’m able to compartmentalize and put everything in specific boxes so I don’t class it as pressure,” Page said. “I think it’s only pressure when you don’t understand where it should be placed and how it should be used. I’m happy to read comments online because I don’t take it as a personal thing. These are people that a lot of the time, they idolize you and wish they could be in your situation. So, it’s easier to be negative about things.”
From a young age, Page says he’s had the utmost confidence in himself and never enters any fight thinking about losing. He also doesn’t place much stock on losing, which he believes allows him to be looser when it comes time for combat. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t care as his training will indicate.
Train Anywhere as Long as Your Surrounded by Family
Page normally trains at the London Shootfighters gym located in the United Kingdom, but he says he can train anywhere as long as his “family” is with him. That family consists of coach Alexis Demetriades along with a host of other coaches and Page’s teammates.
Afro Beat Gets the ‘Venom’ Going
Given that the gym includes people of different backgrounds and from different countries, the music during training is unpredictable and Page enjoys it this way. Although, he does have his favorites.
“Right now, I’m into Afro beat, Afro house, and the London sound as well, he says. “So we’ve got a lot of UK artists that I have playing — people that I was raised on and people that are still killing it right now.”
Michael ‘Venom’ Page Workout Tips & Schedule
First Training Session: 2 1/2 hours
Light jog in the morning before headed to the gym.
Mobility work
Warmup Drills: Jumping Jacks, Hamstring touches, Forward and Backward rolls, grappling and pummeling, sprawling and shooting
Breaking the first wind: Includes sprints, tuck jumps, sprawls, speed abs and loads of different things that are just high intensity and high paced. (Each lasts no longer than three minutes)
Technical Work: “These are specific moves. Whether it be wrestling moves, kickboxing, inter-wrestling—it’s all MMA specific. Once we’ve done that, sometimes we fight positions. We’ve drilled how to do the actual move and now it’s time to go a hundred percent and have your partner try to defend it.”
Sparring: Depending on the day, this could be grappling or wrestling rounds
Fitness Session: Cool Down
Second and Third Session: (Optional, depending on schedule)
Strength and Mobility
MVP Recovery Tips
It’s basically crying in my shower (laughs). I work with a biohacking center called Hum2n in the UK, with Dr. Enayat. We do cryo, the hyperbaric chamber, the VO2 max lung training machine, bone density strengthening machines. There are a lot of different things we do and that’s my wind down and my recovery.
I don’t like to be overly strict on myself because what we do is very difficult. So taking bits of enjoyment is equally important. Obviously, not going over the top. The difference is when I’m going into camp or specifically going towards a fight, that’s when everything does get a little bit strict.
I get up, do my rounds, go into the (first) session and then have my first meal after that. If I’m trying to be strict and we’re going towards a fight, it will be protein pancakes in the morning or scrambled egg and some fruit. After the first session, we’ll have a bigger meal. It will be quinoa, fish, chicken or turkey. Then we have another session and the evening meal is slightly smaller. It could be another fish or a steak meal. But, it’s a very small portion.
The ‘Worst Part’ of MVP’s Training
I think everybody in the gym is very similar so it’s the VersaClimber. I hate it and my coach seems to love it. We know how good it is for us because it’s kind of a whole-body workout and regardless of what injury I have, I can always seem to do it. It’s a hard machine and we have to hit a very elite-level pace as well. You really have to push yourself and you really are dead afterward because everything doesn’t work.
