SUMMARY
- Michael Venom Page is one of the most exciting MMA talents in the world.
- Before his stellar MMA career, MVP had an excellent run in kickboxing and his father Curtis Page played a massive role behind it.
The British MMA scene has produced some amazing fighters over the years. Amongst the greats, are Michael Bisping, Leon Edwards, Tom Aspinall, and Darren Till. While some of them have held the UFC title, others have come close to winning the title at some point during their respective careers. Although they are some of the most popular ones because of their UFC fame, one fighter who has made his name outside the promotion, is Michael ‘Venom’ Page.
Born on April 7, 1987, Michael ‘Venom’ Page hails from London, England. He is one of the best kickboxers to come out of the country and MVP has represented England in various international kickboxing tournaments. The 36-year-old has won the gold medal in 2009’s W.A.K.O Austrian Classics World Cup. He took the top prize in 84 kg (185.188 lbs) semi-contact and light-contact competitions. MVP also took the gold in the semi-contact open weight competition at 2009’s WKA World Championships.
After his kickboxing career, MVP made his professional MMA debut in February 2012. He spectacularly won the bout with a tornado kick in the first round itself. After winning the first 14 bouts of his career, Douglas Lima was the fighter to hand Page the maiden loss of his career. His second MMA loss was against Logan Storley, who is an elite amateur wrestler. After 19 bouts with Bellator, MVP signed with the UFC in December 2023.
He will face off against UFC veteran Kevin Holland in the UFC 299 main card. Ahead of his debut, there is a lot of curiosity around Michael ‘Venom’ Page and his personal life. So, let’s take a deep dive into his personal life before his big moment arrives.
Michael Venom Page’s father Curtis Page was accused of r*pe
Michael ‘Venom’ Page has had quite a controversial life outside of the MMA cage. While Page has managed to maintain a relatively clean image, the same can not be said about his father Curtis Page. Curtis was not only MVP’s father, he was also the trainer who turned Page into a kickboxing world champion!
However, MVP’s father did have demons of his own. In 2017, news broke that he allegedly r*ped several minor girls. According to a Daily Mail report, he was facing 22 s*xual assault charges. He allegedly s*xually assaulted three separate women and the incidents reportedly took place over a decade. Although he had denied all the historical charges, let’s find out what the allegations were.
The Daily Mail report clarified that the events took place between 1985 to 1995 and all three victims viewed Curtis Page as a “father figure.” He reportedly used that to force his dominance over the women and started s*xual relationships from a very early age. One of the victims came in contact with MVP’s father at the age of 11 and their first alleged s*xual encounter took place while watching the movie ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ after she turned only 12.
Recalling the incident, she said, “He has affected a lot of young people’s lives. It needs to stop… I cannot sleep another night without doing the right thing… In my heart I know if he has done this to me, he could do this to others.”
The female, who is 49 now, broke her silence on the incident in 2013 after reportedly coming across a photo of herself from the age of 11. Describing Curtis as a “sick man,” the alleged victim added she decided to break the silence after all these years as she wanted to raise awareness against such “abuse.” However, she was not the only minor that Curtis allegedly took advantage of.
MVP’s father Curtis Page allegedly threatened a victim with a knife to her throat
Another of his alleged victims was r*ped after she opened up to Page about her past s*xual abuse. The report went on to add that Curtis threatened her with a knife to her throat and also threatened to throw her off an 18-story building for refusing s*xual advances. Their first-ever s*xual encounter allegedly took place inside a Brown Ford vehicle. The victim was reportedly “frozen” and terrified during the incident.
While not much information is available about the third victim, her relationship reportedly started when she was 16 and she was allegedly r*ped twice after that. Even before all the allegations surfaced in 2017, Curtis was convicted of two s*x assault charges. But not much came of them as retrials were ordered as verdicts did not arrive on some other charges against him.
Michael Venom Page dedicated his fight against Paul Daley to his late father
Michael Venom Page shared a great bond with his father Curtis Page before the latter’s death. However, there is no official confirmation on when or how Curtis passed away. But it is reported that the tragic incident took place in later 2018, shortly before his bout against bitter rival, Paul Daley. Ahead of the bout, MVP did speak on his late father and thanked him for the introduction to combat sports.
Page added, “Right now everytime I’m in the gym I’m dedicating it to him. Every training session, everytime I’m sweating and screaming, and continuing to push myself it’s a dedication to him. That’s because I wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for him. Individual fights don’t mean anything in terms of dedicating it to him – everything I do is a dedication and a show of respect to him.”
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Despite all the controversy, MVP has always given glowing remarks on the impact his father has had on him. Hence, on March 9, 2024, he will look to get his UFC career off to a flying start by beating Kevin Holland in the much-anticipated welterweight clash and honor his father’s memory.