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Michael Page plans on dropping back to welterweight after UFC Fight Night 250.
Page (22-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on Shara Magomedov (15-0 MMA, 4-0 UFC) in a middleweight bout that co-headlines the Feb. 1 event at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (ESPN+).
When Magomedov called out Israel Adesanya after UFC 308, Page suggested that they fight instead. The UFC jumped on board, but “MVP” says middleweight will not be his new home.
“To be fair for me anyway, it’s back to work at welterweight,” Page told MMA Junkie. “If there is another opportunity at middleweight that looks good, looks juicy, looks tasty, 100 percent I’ll be there to do it again. For me, timing wise, going to middleweight, knowing I had to go through Christmas and everything, it helped. It helped a lot.
“It meant I could enjoy my Christmas a lot more. But in general, I’ve still got a lot of business that I want to handle at welterweight. So for me, this is a one-off, exciting fight at that weight. Maybe in the future you see me there but for now, I still find it comfortable to get to welterweight, and I’ve still got people I’d love to fight.”
Amongst those Page would love to fight is former welterweight champion Leon Edwards (21-4 MMA, 13-3 UFC), who headlines UFC Fight Night 255 when he takes on Jack Della Maddalena at The O2 in London.
“I still think the fight with me and Leon would be great – in the U.K. though,” Page said. “I wouldn’t take it anywhere. If somebody offered me that fight anywhere else, I wouldn’t take it. It does a disservice to our country. I think that fight needs to be over here. I know we’ve got the U.K. card coming, obviously we’ve missed that boat. Let’s say that’s the only one they do this year, then that wouldn’t happen. Again, I’m saying all this with all due respect.
“I just think it’s a great fight to have. I would have loved for it to have been for a belt, but just in general, I think it’s a great fight anyway. The division is wide open. I think we’re going for a bit of a change. Colby (Covington) didn’t look too good in his last fight and obviously lost. There’s a change of the guard that’s happening in that division at the moment so, I think it’s wide open for everybody, and I just want to be in the mix of it.”
Related
Why Michael Page will be happy if Shara Magomedov shoots for takedown at UFC Saudi Arabia
Shara Magomedov vs. Michael Page: Odds and what to know ahead of UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Saudi Arabia.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Michael Page: UFC Saudi Arabia just one-off at middleweight, still unfinished business at 170
