Michael Page is excited to test his skills against Shara Magomedov . The strikers will face off in the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia , scheduled for February 1st in Riyadh. Despite having 13 brutal knockouts in his career, the Briton believes that the 'Pirate of the UFC' is underestimating his abilities.
In an interview with MMA Junkie, 'MVP' explained that many combat sports fans are impressed by athletes who excel in strength, but his kickboxing style is based on distance control and speed, which he considers just as effective. The Briton believes that Shara Magomedov shares this same sentiment among fans who underestimate these qualities.
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“When it comes to combat sports, a lot of people are bloodthirsty and want it to be about power and knockouts, whereas my style of kickboxing has given me a very unique ability to control distance and timing. The ability to move, the speed element, it’s given me different attributes because it’s so focused on power, and people underestimate that. Speed is power. Speed destroys. He’s trying to downplay that,” Page said.
Page says that facing someone who underestimates your abilities is nothing new. According to him, many opponents believe they can handle your style, but when they are face to face, they cannot read your timing, rhythm and speed, which forces them to change their strategy.
“ Ian Garry said the same thing. He believed he was a better striker than me, believed he was faster and stronger than me. That wasn't the case. I've seen many opponents before underestimate me, people think: 'Yeah, he's just better than that guy, but if I were in front of him…'. But when I'm in front of them and they don't understand the timing, the rhythm, the speed. They throw punches, but they can't land anything, so they start resorting to other actions they wouldn't normally take,” said Michael Page.
Michael Page relies on his style to frustrate and make Shara change strategy
With less than two weeks to go before the fight, Page pointed out that Shara Magomedov is confident in his abilities due to his undefeated record and the success he has achieved so far. However, the Briton believes that this confidence may make him more insistent on maintaining his style, even when at a disadvantage. Still, Page is confident that he can frustrate him to the point of forcing him to resort to grappling as an attempt to counter his strategy.
“I think Shara is confident in his ability because he’s an undefeated fighter, very successful in his style so far, so this kind of journey will make him more stubborn even when things go wrong. So I think he’ll stick around a little bit longer, but then again, I’ve taken that from so many people. I can also see myself frustrating Shara enough that he wants to grab me, just to keep me there for a second.”, concluded ‘MVP’.
With 23 wins on his record, Michael 'Venom' Page comes into the fight against 'The Pirate' after a loss to Ian Garry . Shara, undefeated in his career, is on a four-fight winning streak in the UFC. The UFC Saudi Arabia event will also feature the main event between Israel Adesanya and Nassourdine Imavov.
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