Michael “Venom” Page’s opponents know the stomach-churning feeling all too well: of having a brash foe before them, doing exactly what he promised. In many cases, it involves a knockout. In his last fight, however, it was Page who had to deal with defeat by an outspoken rival, as he was beaten by Ian Machado Garry. It was not Page’s first loss, nor his worst, but given Machado Garry is as divisive as “MVP” once was, it could have been a painful one.
Yet Page has a healthier relationship with defeat than one would expect. And it’s a relationship that dates back further than fans may think, too. There was the brutal knockout by Diego Lima in 2019, yes, but that did not humble the Londoner, because – despite popular opinion at the time – he didn’t need humbling.
