Michael Page reveals crazy Misfits deal pays at least $3 million — more than entir

Michael Page has locked in his next move after the unceremonious end to his UFC run.

As one of the more notable free-agent signings of the 2020s, Page joined the UFC in March 2024 after establishing himself as a fan-favorite welterweight in Bellator. Page, 39, went on to enjoy a solid 5-1 run within the Octagon, but it wasn't enough for the promotion to offer him a new deal at the end of his contract this past September.

It was announced over the weekend at the Misfits Boxing event in London that the promotion had signed Page to a multi-fight deal. Page revealed on Monday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" that his new contract includes three boxing or MMA fights, each with seven-figure paydays. Page noted that those numbers make the deal more lucrative than his entire UFC career combined.

Page will be exclusive to Misfits for his 18-month contract, he said, but can still compete in competitions like Real American Freestyle (RAF) wrestling matches.

"We had a lot of offers from a lot of different promotions," Page told Uncrowned. "All were excited to try and have me on board, but everyone was at very, very different times. An example of that is like Scott Coker and those guys; they're only just getting started [with Ki MMA]. So it's just bad timing for them right now to have me on board, because they don't have enough opponents for me and stuff as of yet.

"There's a few of those kinds of things with a few other shows as well. But then also Misfits came with a crazy deal, which means I've only continued to grow and get better financially. But then, also, KSI is my boy. I've worked alongside the Misfits guys with some of my teammates. ... There's a vision for the future as well, and what they're trying to do. They're looking to get an MMA show, and me kind of leading that way to be the face of that. It's a lot of exciting stuff as well as a better payday.

"I think I will help attract other fighters, and you will really see Misfits kind of making waves in the MMA space as well."

Page was as active as he could be during his UFC stint, fighting twice a year. Ideally, he hopes to get one more fight in before 2027, but isn't so sure the stars will align.

The nicest aspect of this new deal for Page might be the multi-sport versatility. MMA is still the focus, he said, and it's where he wants to showcase his talents. But boxing next is now a readily available possibility as well.

"It's going to depend on the opportunities, the opponents," Page said. "For example, I feel like people are going to be more encouraged to want to fight me in boxing because they haven't seen me box for a while. They may feel safer boxing me instead of going into MMA. So it just depends. We're speaking to them now about potential opponents. It's exciting, but difficult to tell at the moment. But I definitely will be doing an MMA fight with Misfits."

Page's immediate direction gets a bit tricky when it comes to opponents. Notable names are out there for him in the combat sports ecosystem, but they're largely in situations similar to Page's, with an organization attached.

Darren Till is one of the first examples that comes to mind for Page. His fellow former UFC star recently took the gloves off after starting his boxing career in Misfits and moving to Bare Knuckle FC. However, Page believes Till still has one fight left on his old Misfits deal, which puts him on the list of options for either MMA or boxing.

Regarding others, Page sees only a couple at present.

"Tommy Fury is only going to be like a boxing option. I can see that fight happening as well. I know he's got a couple fights left with them as well," Page said.

"I don't want to have to beat up a [Tony] Ferguson, but if he steps forward, then he will get run over. [Nate] Diaz, again, if he's still available and he wants to fight. And then again, like, I said, I'm going to start attracting more people as well. So, we will see who else's names come forward."

After Page found out he wouldn't be sticking with the UFC, he said he had many suitors. There wasn't a strong indication early of where he might end up, but he admits one option seemed most likely.

That was, until Misfits extended an offer he couldn't refuse.

"I would have said MVP made the most sense at the time. But then hearing what Misfits was talking about, that definitely makes the most sense," Page said.

Now that Page has fully moved on from the UFC, he still doesn't look back on his lackluster — but successful — run with the promotion with animosity or confusion. He understands where the UFC product is in 2026, but doesn't believe the new shift should remain.

"We're in a very different time. There's no pay-per-views anymore," Page said. "I don't believe the UFC is about finding out who's the most talented martial artist anymore. I think it's a little bit of a factory line, and we're just catering for the bar casuals that just want blood.

"I was actually having a conversation with a friend of mine, and he actually said, ‘I'll say specifically in the UFC, but MMA in general, is probably the only sport where you could win and move backward and lose and progress forward. There's no other sport that would happen in.’ So, yeah, it's unfortunate. I think we need to get back to finding out who the most skillful person is. It's not just about the entertainment.

"There's usually, what, 12 to 15 fights on the card? You're going to find entertainment somewhere in there, but it should mostly be about who is the best martial artist," Page continued. "Who is the top? I think we're kind of steering away from that at the moment."