UFC Hall of Famer and commentator Daniel Cormier echoes Michael Page’s confusion about his upcoming matchup against Sam Patterson.

Page (24-3 MMA, 3-1 UFC) came into the UFC fighting ranked opposition, and has fought nothing but since, including his last outing, which was a decision win over a former title challenger, Jared Cannonier, in August at UFC 319. During a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Page explained how it has been difficult for him to land an opponent and even questioned if he did something wrong to upset the UFC for them to book him against Patterson (14-2-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC), who is unranked.

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The matchup against Patterson takes place at UFC Fight Night 270 (Paramount+) on March 21 from The O2 in London.

“He told MMA Junkie, ‘I can’t get fights,’ and then he got a fight, right? But the fight’s against Sam Patterson,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “No disrespect to Sam Patterson, he has looked really, really good. He has been really, really tough, and he’s a kid that has potential, right? But honestly, he’s not a guy that you would expect Michael ‘Venom’ Page to be fighting, right?”

Page’s debut bout was against Kevin Holland, followed by his first loss in the promotion against Ian Machado Garry – both fights at welterweight. Page rebounded with a pair of wins in 2025 over Shara Magomedov and Cannonier in the middleweight division. Page has trained with Patterson and knows him personally, which makes the matchup difficult. They also haven’t had the same career paths, which leads to the confusing matchmaking – and Cormier agrees.

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“So, Page seemed disappointed in having to fight a kid he knows, but I feel, and I really can’t speak for the man, the disappointment comes from fighting Ian Garry, Shara ‘Bullet,’ Kevin Holland, Jared Cannonier, Sam Patterson,” Cormier said. “That is where the disappointment comes if it was me, because I would have thought that after fighting a guy that just fought for the world championship, I would get to fight someone else.

“Look, Sam Patterson’s won four straight fights by finishes. So, there is an element of danger to him. But let’s not forget that Sam Patterson lost his UFC debut. I think he got knocked out or something like that. I’m not exactly sure. … But you look at the people MVP has fought, and you expect a step up, especially with where he’s been and where he expects to go going forward.”

Page is currently ranked No. 14 in the UFC’s official welterweight rankings, and doesn’t appear in the middleweight top 15, even though he just beat No. 10 Cannonier. His tricky style has made it tough to find anyone willing to sign up for a fight against him, which is why he’s floated between both divisions. He finds himself in a tricky spot, and Cormier believes the best outcome for him in this matchup against Patterson is to find his first finish under the UFC banner.

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“I think it would make sense even if he was a little bit let down by the matchup, but again, I don’t want to be Sean Shelby because how hard would it be to match up a guy that seems to be so difficult to fight? So now, we end up with him vs. Sam Patterson. Sam Patterson wins this fight, it’s great for him. MVP wins this fight, then what is next? Because if you can’t get a fight after beating Jared Cannonier, I don’t know how much easier it’s going to get people to say yes to a fight after you fight Sam Patterson.

“I think it puts a little pressure on him to go out there and do something spectacular. Like I said, maybe the fight isn’t as high-profile, but maybe it’s an opportunity for him to do something spectacular. He hasn’t had a finish since Bellator. But if he doesn’t, then it just kind of follows the path of what his career’s been.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Daniel Cormier echoes Michael Page’s confusion with UFC London bout