Michael Page wants to see action in the UFC’s welterweight division.
On the same night that Islam Makhachev (28-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) defeated Jake De La Maddalena to capture the welterweight title at UFC 322, Carlos Prates knocked out Leon Edwards and Michael Morales knocked out Sean Brady, two new contenders emerged. A week later, Ian Machado Garry defeated former champion Belal Muhammad at UFC Fight Night 265.
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“It’s a difficult assignment and there seem to be a lot of names in this division and that’s what makes it exciting,” Page told MMA Junkie. “But I feel like that’s why people choose not to fight specific people – they almost prefer to sit back and wait because they feel like they deserve it. There are quite a few people who have claims.
“They all decided to sit me down and wait because I thought I had the right, rather than take another tough fight because that could ruin my chances, rather than just fighting. If you think you’re the best, even if you get the belt, you still have to keep fighting to prove you’re the best, and all these names are going to come up no matter what. I think in the welterweight division everyone tries to be a little too tactical, and that’s why there’s a little bit of reservation there.”
As for former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, Page (24-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) said beating Joaquin Buckley to snap a three-fight losing streak wasn’t enough.
“He just came back,” Page said of Usman. “Don’t get me wrong – it was a good win over Joaquin Barkley, but you just can’t come back, and, it felt like he wasn’t trying to be active, he was just trying to be smart. He picked a guy he felt he could beat. He did that and then he sat me down because I felt like that was enough. I thought Joaquin was like No. 7, so he said, that should be enough because my name is going to hold weight as well.
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“I think as far as the event goes, Morales or Prates. I think those two guys are probably the most deserving. Again, both are coming up fast, but I think they’re the most deserving at the moment. Ian Gary, again, calls it the luck of the Irish – they’re pushing him. To be fair, it was a great performance in his last fight, so again, he deserves it. Maybe he’ll fight one of those guys. Those three names, you’d put them out there to be the next guy in line.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Page: Several fighters have a shot at UFC welterweight title