‘Venom’ vs. Top UFC Prospect: Keys to Victory and What’s Likely Going to Play Out
14th-ranked UFC welterweight Michael ‘Venom’ Page makes his return to the Octagon to face off against top UFC prospect Sam Patterson at UFC Fight Night: Evloev vs. Murphy on March 21st at the 02 Arena in London, England. Both fighters are based in the United Kingdom. MVP has been a staple in MMA with some of the flashiest and scariest knockouts in MMA history while using a unique point karate-kickboxing hybridized style. Patterson is a well-rounded fighter with great ground prowess. Both men have lost only one UFC bout during their time in the promotion. MVP has seen the judges’ scorecards in every one of his UFC bouts; Patterson has yet to see a third round in his UFC career. The clash of styles and fight goals could lead to an interesting or boring bout. Here are both fighters’ best ways to win in their matchup.
Michael ‘Venom’ Page
Since his UFC debut in 2024, MVP has fought more conservatively, valuing style and embarrassing his opponents rather than sending them to the shadow realm like his prime Bellator days. Part of this could be a result of inching closer to 40. Page has been a professional mixed martial artist for nearly 15 years, and he could be valuing his post-MMA life more than ever before. He can’t rest on his laurels against a rising contender who has yet to see the judges’ scorecards in the UFC, however. Patterson is a massive ground threat with ground-and-pound power and submission victories in the past. MVP has been taken down in three of his four UFC bouts, and two of those bouts led to submission attempts. He also hasn’t won via submission in the past decade. While MVP will most likely try to drag the fight to the judges’ scorecards, he needs to work on his takedown defense, timely bodily movements, distance management, and keeping the fight on the feet to get there. His movement is one of a kind, with the only somewhat accurate comparison being Jiri Prochazka. This allows him to avoid the most significant strikes that would land on almost any other fighter. Page also has an impressive 66 percent takedown defense rate in his time with the UFC. Even when he gets taken down, Page has good ground defense. Patterson could look to land heavy blows to create an opening for a takedown. Whether using steep kicks, leg kicks, snappy jabs, timely uppercuts, bringing back the most destructive flying knee from hell, utilizing his sprawl, or executing proper whizzer techniques, Page has to make Patterson regret shooting for any takedowns. Page could also work from his back in training camp in the event Patterson does successfully take him or knock him down. Page would need everything in his toolbelt to survive being on the ground with Patterson.
Sam Patterson
Patterson needs to watch MVP’s fight with Ian ‘The Future’ Machado Garry religiously to get an idea of how to tackle the bout with the former. Fighting MVP is complicated with his fighting style and movement. He fights primarily like a counterstriker but will also lead out when he sees a good opening. He throws new feints constantly to confuse opponents. MVP relies on getting in his opponent’s head and waiting for them to make the smallest mistakes. No training partner can properly prepare Patterson for what he sees across the octagon two weeks from now. Patterson has to be systematic and pick the right moments to do anything. The best way for him to solve the ‘Venom’ puzzle would be by throwing a lot of feints himself. This would allow Patterson to see how MVP is moving and what tendencies the latter is leaning into that night. Once Patterson is able to read MVP’s movements, the next thing he would need to do is properly land and time leg kicks. Chopping down MVP’s base will take away most of his game, allowing Patterson to do as he pleases on the feet so long as he’s careful. Simultaneously, if Patterson could read and time kicks that MVP throws at him, he could catch a teep kick or quickly shoot for a takedown. Patterson’s best chance at winning is by taking the fight to the ground and taking back control. While MVP has good submission defense, he would be at a disadvantage and wouldn’t be able to output much offense.
Outcome of the Fight
MVP’s unique style alone will allow him to get through the first round easily. He probably will land a few unexpected clean shots on Patterson, who would be looking to read MVP’s movements and see if he could get an early takedown. Patterson would also be taking information to figure out a gameplan going into round two. We probably will see a major adjustment from Patterson in round two, looking for something specific to counter or move off of, most likely some type of kick or blitz that MVP attempts to counter with. If Patterson is able to get a good read on MVP, he should be able to land a takedown by the middle of round two and deal good damage to the veteran. While MVP finds a way to get out of round two clean, round three sees a young, bloodthirsty upcomer doing his best to get a finish, trying to extend his streak of finishes in the UFC. Patterson gets more desperate. In desperation, Patterson gets more wild, allowing MVP to land more clean combos that continue to frustrate the prospect until the end of the final round. MVP will most likely win by unanimous decision.
