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Heading into his maiden UFC fight, Michael 'Venom' Page (21-2 MMA) has shed light on how the ancient martial art of Kung Fu influenced his flamboyant fighting style.
A highly accomplished kickboxer and karateka, 'MVP' is a fifth dan black belt in the karate realm, besides also being a brown sash in Lau Garbunder. Over the years, a number of fight fans and experts have hypothesized that his unconventional fighting style reflects his vast experience in sport karate and freestyle kickboxing (points fighting).
The 36-year-old boxing, bare-knuckle boxing, kickboxing, and karate veteran is now all set to continue his MMA career in the UFC. He recently spoke to UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping on the latter's YouTube channel. Bisping insinuated that he'd like Page to expound upon how his Kung Fu background has shaped his fighting prowess and combat sports career.
The two martial arts savants discussed the efficacy of Kung Fu in MMA, other full-contact combat sports, and miscellaneous fighting scenarios. 'MVP' notably harked back to his point-fighting background in kickboxing and karate, as well as highlighted the artistic impact of Kung Fu (an umbrella term for various Chinese martial arts forms).
The scion of the widely-revered Page martial arts family stated:
"For mixed martial arts, I think there's limited things. But at the same time, my foundation, my style comes from there. So, as much as it's limited, it did create what you see in 'MVP'. We did a lot of traditional [practices], but at the same time we did Lau [Garbunder] Kung Fu as an art, but we did kickboxing competitions for the fight."
He added:
"So, obviously, it did lean into a lot of my strength training and stuff came from my Lau [Garbunder]. My flexibility, my kicking ability, all came from the Lau [Garbunder] Kung Fu. And then, I was able to execute those moves in the kickboxing, and then the kickboxing kind of formed the style that you see, that I've now brought to the cage."
Check out Michael 'Venom' Page's comments below (3:03):
A closer look at Michael 'Venom' Page's promotional debut matchup against a UFC mainstay
During his time in Bellator MMA, Michael 'Venom' Page was heralded among the biggest stars under that banner. In his last three MMA bouts, each of the trio transpiring in the Bellator organization, Page secured a pair of wins and suffered one defeat.
He avenged a previous loss by beating Douglas Lima via split decision but then lost by split decision against Logan Storley. In his most recent fight, the UK welterweight star bested Goiti Yamauchi via first-round TKO in March 2023.
Michael 'Venom' Page is scheduled to make his UFC debut against No.12-ranked UFC welterweight Kevin Holland at UFC 299 on March 9, 2024.
Holland has won two of his past three fights. 'Trailblazer' beat Santiago Ponzinibbio via third-round KO and stopped Michael Chiesa by first-round submission. He last faced Jack Della Maddalena and lost via split decision in September 2023.
