Michael ‘Venom’ Page is set to take on Jared Cannonier a UFC 319, with MVP looking to make a big statement against the number eight-ranked fighter. It will be his second fight in the UFC’s Middleweight division, following his fight against Shara Magomedov back in February, which saw him win via unanimous decision. Before the Magomedov fight, MVP fought twice in the UFC at welterweight, which saw him win against Kevin Holland and lose a close decision against Ian Machado Garry. This fight presents a huge opportunity for MVP to make a statement in the Middleweight division by defeating a former title challenger and presenting him with the opportunity for some very fun and intriguing matchups at Middleweight.
The name MVP has become synonymous with an explosive and intriguing style of fighting, which has seen him secure some of the most viral and astonishing knockouts during his time with Bellator. This bout against Cannonier presents MVP with the perfect opportunity to continue to show his skills in the UFC and establish his name at Middleweight. MVP’s style has been a difficult puzzle to solve for most fighters he has faced. He is a patient fighter who waits for an opening in his opponent’s defence before blitzing forward and landing any one of his strikes in his diverse arsenal. His style mixed with his devastating power makes him a nightmare for anyone on the feet.
Perhaps the path to victory for Cannonier is not on foot. Whilst the American has displayed some devastating power of his own, with ten of his eighteen wins coming by way of KO/TKO, perhaps the path to victory is similar to that of Ian Garry, who, despite being predominantly a striker, used grappling to defeat MVP. Whilst Cannonier is hardly considered an elite grappler, he does have the ability to land takedowns with a takedown accuracy of 44% in his UFC career. It will be difficult to close the range against MVP, but it would probably be his best path to victory to at least mix in the grappling and get MVP worrying about the threat.
It will be intriguing to see how both fighters approach the fight. MVP certainly will see this as the biggest opportunity of his UFC career so far. If he wins, there are several exciting matchups for him in the Middleweight division.
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