Michael “Venom” Page is no fan of Colby Covington.
During an appearance on UFC DAY OFF, the recent UFC debutant spoke about his disdain for Covington’s trash talk, particularly shots that the longtime welterweight contender took at champion Leon Edwards’ late father. Edwards went on to defeat Covington via a lopsided unanimous decision at UFC 296.
For Page, those kinds of insults have no place in combat sports.
“I hate this guy,” Page said of Covington. “I’m going to be happy to kick this guy in the face. … I find him fake. He just doesn’t seem like a nice guy. With all the stuff that came out last time about what fighters should and shouldn’t be allowed to talk about with regards to people. People are going deep now, talking about each other’s wives, and moms and dads, and he was very much into it, I just didn’t like that.
“I come from a martial arts background, so that’s not the way we do things. I think he’s trying too hard to stay relevant. As much as we are a tough sport, we want to show that we’re true sportsmen.”
Page made a successful UFC debut this past March at UFC 299, defeating Kevin Holland to immediately stake his claim to more high-profile bouts. The former Bellator champion entered the UFC with plenty of buzz after scoring several viral knockouts for his former promotion.
With Conor McGregor set to return at UFC 303 in June, Page was also asked if he’d like to see himself standing across “The Notorious” anytime soon.
“I’m about the competition,” Page said. “I don’t care enough to just get him just for the sake of scalping a name. I don’t feel the need to prove myself that way. If he looks good, then that could be a good, tough fight, then I’m on it. I’m game, I want to challenge myself.
“If he doesn’t look like it, then there’s going to be so many people that’s going to want to fight him just to say that they beat him. I’m not that type of fighter, I don’t really care.”
A likely destination for Page’s next fight could be in his native England. The UFC heads to Manchester on July 27 for UFC 304 and though Page is eager to book a matchup in his home country, he doesn’t think the rest of the division shares that enthusiasm.
“I feel fresh after my last fight, more than willing to go,” Page said. “I think there is definitely a want for me to be on that card, it’s just who’s ready? It seems that everyone has got hamstring issues and stuff all of a sudden. It just seems like we’re trying to get an opponent and nobody seems to be ready.”
