UFC star Michael Page did the unthinkable by breaking Shara Magomedov’s undefeated streak at UFC Saudi Arabia co-main event.
Magomedov continued to pepper his opponent with leg kicks in the following rounds, but he could not land a clean headshot. On the other hand, Page kept coming with savage kicks and a leaping shot that almost took Magomedov out of the game. He continued with flying knees and spinning kicks, leaving Magomedov struggling to maintain composure. In the following rounds, Magomedov struggled to land any worthy shots, and the fighter ended with a unanimous decision win for Page, making the defeat Shara Magomedov’s first in his career.
Although the defeat shocked many, Page revealed he was confident about winning the fight five minutes into the bout. At the post-fight press conference, Page said he knew he had the fight in the bag after a couple of exchanges in the first round.
“Before even the end of Round 1, I knew he was never going to do anything to beat me because he was only going to want to strike,” Page said at the event’s post-fight press conference. “I still feel like I was just a little bit too hesitant. Straightaway, I could feel that he was second-guessing a lot of himself, so I knew I was going to take that fight.”
“He’s still an exceptional striker,” Page said. “I would never take that away from him. The reason why people felt like that is because of what they see, what he does in the cage. He is an exceptional fighter, but the reason I called him out is because for me, with my experience, years and years of experience, I’ve seen that style before and I knew what I could do with that style, which is why he didn’t look as impressive today.
“Does it take anything away from him? No, I would never say that guy’s not a good fighter. He’s amazing.”
“I didn’t think this at the beginning, but I’m starting to think it a bit more now, there is an effect of being in the UFC,” Page said. “The magnitude of the UFC brand, the event, I think that’s what’s kind of still weighing on me a little bit and it’s making me a little bit more hesitant whereas before, when I was at Bellator, there was no hesitation. I was in there, I was very sure of myself. I don’t know if I’m wanting it too much, I’m second-guessing myself, I don’t know what it is, but there is definitely a UFC effect. But the more comfortable I get, the more you’re going to see the old ‘MVP.’”
It is uncertain what the next course of action is for either fighter but Page plans on reveling in his victory just a bit longer.
The show-stopping fight between Page and Magomedov wasn’t the only fight of the night as many athletes displayed impressive sportsmanship and were rewarded for their performance. Some of these fighters include Nassourdine Imavov–who defeated Israel Adesanya-, Bogdan Grad– who KOed Lucas Alexander– Vinicius Oliveira and Said Nurmagomedov. All four fighters won $50,000 each for Performance of the Night and impressive skills in the cage.
Main Card
Nassourdine Imavov def. Israel Adesanya via KO (R2, 0:30)
Michael Page def. Shara Magomedov via unanimous decision
Sergei Pavlovich def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via unanimous decision
Vinicius Oliveira def. Said Nurmagomedov via unanimous decision
Fares Ziam def. Mike Davis via unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
Muhammad Naimov def. Kaan Ofli via unanimous decision
Shamil Gaziev def. Thomas Petersen via first-round TKO
Terrance McKinney def. Damir Hadzovic via first-round TKO
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Mayra Bueno Silva via unanimous decision
Bogdan Grad def. Lucas Alexander via second-round TKO
Hamdy Abdelwahab def. Jamal Pogues via split decision
