Michael Page offered an explanation for the lack of combativeness shown at UFC London , held last Saturday (21). The Briton faced his compatriot Sam Patterson and, after 15 minutes, had his arm raised amid boos from the crowd. Despite the victory, 'Venom', who was once called the 'new Anderson Silva ', showed dissatisfaction with his performance.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Page stated that he encountered unexpected difficulties during the fight. According to the fighter, Patterson adopted a more defensive stance than anticipated, which compromised his plans to impose an aggressive pace.
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“There were things I faced in the octagon that I didn’t expect. Patterson was a little more defensive, and I really wanted to be aggressive in this fight. I didn’t need to readjust or rethink my strategy, like how to pressure, how to close the distance,” said Michael Page.
The Briton also admitted to being frustrated with the dynamics of the fight, stressing that he had rarely felt so uncomfortable inside the octagon. Page acknowledged that he did not meet his own expectations or those of the fans, assessing his performance as insufficient and stating that he needs to deliver a better performance in future appearances.
“I was getting frustrated, and I think this is the first time someone has frustrated me this much in the octagon. I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘I need to do much better.’ It wasn’t good enough. The fans have expectations of me, but I also have enormous expectations of myself, and I didn’t meet them,” Venom concluded.
Check out the statistics from the fight between Michael Page and Sam Patterson at UFC London.
Despite securing the victory and landing more strikes, Michael Page displayed less aggression compared to Sam Patterson throughout the fight. In total, 'Venom' landed 27 of his 45 attempted strikes, while his opponent connected with 12 of 64 attempts.
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