Michael ‘Venom’ Page Twice Drops Jared Cannonier in Big Win

Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s UFC 319 win over Jared Cannonier was a masterclass in precision and power.

The British striker dazzled throughout his middleweight fight against his American adversary by showing a appreciation of distance management, of knowing when to strike and with what kind of shot. The angles from which he threw singular punches were extraordinary, and he’d move out of range to ensure the impact Cannonier could have on the fight was reduced considerably.

Page has been in fine form since campaigning at 185 pounds having fought lower, at welterweight. And he followed up his victory over Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov by confounding Cannonier time and again with impeccable point karate-fighting.

Michael ‘Venom’ Page Outpoints Jared Cannonier

One of Page’s best moves of the night involved the dynamite in his hands when he saw an opening with Cannonier’s arms down, and cracked him with a huge right to the jaw, which rocked his opponent with him dropped to the floor. Page stood back and admired his work rather than pouncing on Cannonier to whack him on the floor.

Page dropped Cannonier in the second round, too, thanks to catching him with a counter before following up with a three-shot flurry. All the punches in the combination landed. The knockdown was lighter than the one in the first, but still saw Cannonier take a tumble backwards as he sought safety with distance while in a vulnerable position.

Cannonier took Page to the canvas but the Londoner was able to recover and get back to his feet with ease. When Cannonier had Page on the floor again in the third and final round, he was in a much better position as it happened with four minutes left on the clock, with Page gaining too much confidence when pursuing the knockout. Cannonier got top position, smacked Page in the face with nasty shots from the top, before eventually moving to half guard. Cannonier’s kimura failed, and Page, too, shook off his later wrist submission attempt.

Despite Cannonier’s comeback, it came too little too late to reverse Page’s work in the first two rounds. And so all three judges scored the fight 29-28 to Page.

“I wanted to push it in the third round and made a silly mistake,” said Page, after the win. “Bloody hell, he’s so strong on top.”