Page embracing Magomedov banter before UFC Saudi Arabia

Michael Page is loving his back-and-forth with Shara Magomedov ahead of their fight in the co-main event of UFC Saudi Arabia this Saturday.

The two have been trading barbs over the last seven days, with Page saying Magomedov will be “bloodied up” and his opponent responding with a controversial Instagram video.

The clip featured footage of a fake corpse lying on the ground and Magomedov seated on a couch nearby, cocking and pointing a shotgun at the camera.

“Michael Page I heard you say that I will bleed in our fight on February 1st,” the caption read.

“Yes I will bleed, only in yours.”

Page says he “loved” the stunt and contrasted it against some of the more personal attacks seen in mixed martial arts recently.

“I loved it,” Page said.

“For me, I love that kind of stuff.

“I prefer that kind of banter because that’s me as well.

“I prefer that kind of banter and back-and-forth than some of the stuff that you see, a lot of these other fighters getting personal and disrespectful.

“This is very lighthearted, friendly, because he’s responding to stuff.”

Page enters UFC Saudi Arabia as a moderate underdog, paying +162 to win across UFC betting sites.

With Magomedov paying -188.68 to win at Bovada — and +260 to win by knockout — Page is cautious of the threat his opponent presents.

“Exceptional,” Page said of Magomedov’s recent form, before going on to highlight the Russian’s recent knockout of Armen Petrosyan.

“Especially that last double spinning backfist KO.

“If you see some of his other clips when he was in the kickboxing, you can tell that is something that he has been doing or has done before or likes to throw.

“So it’s not like it was just a random thing.”

While Page believes he can win this weekend, the 37-year-old is confident Magomedov will continue rising in the UFC.

“I think he’s super talented and even if I go in there and do what I know I can do, I think he’s still set to have an exciting career,” he said.

“He just needs to continue on the path that he’s on and just keep developing and growing.

“Sometimes a loss can help with that.

“Sometimes that one loss can make you readjust a few things and self-reflect and push forward even stronger.”

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