Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter pay has once again taken center stage in recent weeks, with current Middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, stating that he has no problem walking away from the promotion if his financial demands aren’t met.
In fact, “Tarzan” revealed he wouldn’t mind jumping over to the boxing world seeing as how Zuffa stars are getting the bag. That career move, however, was quickly rejected by UFC CEO, Dana White (more on that here), who also happens to be the main man at Zuffa Boxing.
Adding further fuel to the fighter pay fire is Brendan Allen, who agreed with Strickland’s weak pay comments following his big win at UFC Vegas 122 (watch highlights). On that note, Michael Page’s recent salary revelation isn’t going to help White and Co. in this hot debate.
During a recent interview with Yahoo! Sports, Page revealed that he is far better off financially after he surprisingly joined forces with Misfits Boxing just one month after being cut by UFC.
“Again, we had a lot of offers from a lot of different promotions, all excited to have me on board, but everyone was at very, very different times,” said Page regarding the multitude of deals he was pondering. “An example was Scott Coker and those guys, but they are only just getting started. So, it’s a bad time with them for me right now because they are just getting started and don’t have enough opponents for me.
“Then Misfits came with an absolutely crazy deal, which means I’ve continued to grow and get better financially,” he added. “But, then KSI is my boy, and I have worked alongside the Misfits guys before with my teammates in their corners, and my coaches work closely with them, as well.”
Page went onto add that Misfits Boxing’s overall model and future plans were another factor in him signing with the promotion.
“So yeah, their vision for the future, as well, and what they are trying to do, like they are looking to get an MMA show going and me kind of lead that way, be the face of that,” he revealed. “There is a lot of exciting stuff as well as a better payday.”
As far as how much more he will be making with Misfits Boxing, Page did not disclose an exact amount; however, he did reveal he will be making a whopping seven figures per-fight, which comes out to more than twice than what he made with UFC … in less fights.
“I mean I left UFC and I making more money, like two times more in a shorter period,” Page revealed. “It’s a three-fight deal, in those three fights I will make more than what I did my whole UFC contract. So, it’s nice. I have done a lot of work in my career to help build my name to where it is now.
“So yeah, I feel like I am deserving of it and I am thankful to be in this position,” he concluded.
Page made his UFC debut in 2024, defeating Kevin Holland at UFC 299 and went on to rack up a 5-1 record. Despite winning five in a row, UFC officials opted to not renew his contract and let him walk. While page was disappointed seeing as how he felt he left a lot of big fights on the table, he no longer feels creatively restricted by UFC.
“Like I said out there, I feel free of the shackles,” Page said. “I’m a very creative person — my walkouts, my entrances, my exits — and I wasn’t allowed to do that. And I feel like here, they’re literally like, ‘Look, we want you to be yourself.’ That’s going to help me be my best self.
“For me, it’s a shame I just feel like there’s so much more the UFC could be doing for fighters,” Page added. “Regardless, whether you like them, hate them, they are the biggest combat show in terms of MMA. So you have to value them, there’s some ridiculously talented fighters.
“But, I went in there, and I was Top 10 in two divisions, I was calling out everybody, wasn’t getting any feedback,” Page finished. “Again, [I] felt very restricted, so it’s a shame because I felt like there was more fights, big fights that could be had. But, here, I feel free. The big fights, the big names that are out there, that are away from other shows, it’s all going to happen.”
