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Michael Page: ‘I enjoy Bellator, but I definitely feel like I need to touch the UFC at some point’

Bellator Dublin
Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Michael Page seems to be in a much better place with Bellator MMA than he was heading into his most recent appearance, but he still has his eye on a future spot on the UFC’s roster.

Page is on the verge of a welterweight title shot after picking up his fifth straight win earlier this month, a first-round doctor’s stoppage TKO win over Derek Anderson at Bellator 258. “Venom” is hoping to get back to a rematch with Douglas Lima should he defeat Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 260 in June.

While all is well between Page, the promotion, and Scott Coker, “MVP” in the UFC at some point seems like something he will actively pursue once his contract with Bellator expires, as he told former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.

“I enjoy Bellator. I enjoy where I’m at and I enjoy my success so far, but I definitely feel like I need to touch the UFC at some point and just test myself there as well,” Page told Bisping on Believe You Me. “There are some great matches to be made over there so I definitely think in the future—I don’t know when—obviously I’m contracted to being in Bellator, and I’ve got some goals to achieve there as well. I feel like I’m close to doing that.

“But until then, I definitely still see myself going [over to the UFC].”

The 34-year-old Page has won 19 of his 20 professional bouts, 15 took place inside the Bellator cage. There’s been a lot of history between Page and his current promotion, but stepping foot inside the UFC’s octagon is something he has been thinking about since he broke into the sport.

“If I’m being honest, when I first started, the only reason I [got into MMA] was to go to the UFC,” Page said. “That’s the biggest thing and it’s obviously still one of the biggest [promotions].

“There’s a lot of shows popping up. But in general—especially when I was started—anybody that was getting into MMA, their goal was to get to the UFC. The majority of people are still the same.”

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