Michael Page Wins in Paris, Then Vanishes From the UFC Rankings

Michael "Venom" Page walked out of UFC Paris with a win over Nursulton Ruziboev — a decision that briefly looked like it would finally slot him into the official welterweight rankings, where he already sits at #13. Then, on the morning after, the rankings voters got a note: MVP was no longer eligible to be ranked following the result. Same win, different math.

That's a strange turn for a 26-3 fighter with 13 knockouts and three submissions on his ledger, someone who's spent years building a reputation as one of the most watchable strikers in the sport. A victory that should have nudged him up the ladder instead quietly erased him from it.

What Page Thinks Happened

Page didn't get a post-fight interview inside the cage in Paris, and he's connected the dots himself. He suggested the promotion wasn't pleased with how the fight played out — the same read, he noted, as a previous outing. In other words: a decision win that didn't excite anyone upstairs, and now the rankings reflect that displeasure rather than the result.

It's an unusual admission, because rankings are supposed to track wins and losses, not entertainment value. A decision counts the same as a highlight-reel finish in the record book. The gap between what happened on the scorecards and what happened to Page's standing is exactly what makes this one worth watching.

Why It Matters for the Division

At #13, Page is on the fringe of the welterweight top 15 — the zone where every ranking spot is real estate. Being available to be ranked, then abruptly not, muddies where he stands with the matchmakers and whether his next assignment comes as a ranked opponent or an afterthought.

None of this is officially explained, and the UFC hasn't laid out its reasoning. But the sequence is clear enough: Page won, was in line to be ranked, and then wasn't. For a 39-fight veteran chasing relevance in a stacked division, that's the kind of setback that doesn't show up in the win column but hurts just the same.