Michael Page aims to skip ranked welterweights, eyes direct path to #1 Kamaru Usman after UFC 303 triumph

Michael Page seems keen on a fight with former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman if he emerges victorious from his looming fight.

Page readies to fight this weekend against Ian Machado Garry in a consequential contest at 170 pounds. This matchup takes place on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 303 which emanates from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. 'MVP' and Garry are ranked at No.14 and No.7, respectively.

While speaking about the general state of the weight category going forward recently on the Freestylebender YouTube channel prior to this bout, Michael Page said:

"You've got the likes of I think it was Gilbert Burns is number six but he's just come off a loss. So I think he's going in the opposite direction where he's going to have to kind of re-establish himself. [Jack Della] Maddalena and Shavkat [Rakhmonov], them guys are gonna probably face off. You've got Leon Edwards and Belal Muhammad, they're fighting."

He added:

"[Kamaru] Usman's just chilling there. You see what I'm saying? He's ranked number one as well. Obviously massive respect to him for what he's done in his career, what he's still doing in his career. But he's just sat at the top and I'm like well where would I go next? It feels like other people are already kind of partnered off."

The former Bellator standout feels like it just makes the most sense as a next step if he gets his ideal outcome in the coming days. This is considering how the hierarchy of the ranked welterweights seems to be laid out schedule-wise right now.

Check out MVP discussing a desired Usman fight in the future below:

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Michael Page thinks Leon Edwards will retain his welterweight title

Leon Edwards will test skills with Belal Muhammad at UFC 304 with the latter finally getting his crack at the gold. This represents a rematch with 'Rocky' after an errant eye poke resulted in their first fight being declared a no contest.

In the aforementioned interview, speaking to Israel Adesanya's brother David, Michael Page got into discussing his thoughts on Edwards versus Muhammad II in the coming weeks.

The 37-year-old described both combatants as very slow paced fighters and referenced how he does not see it as a negative but that each likes to be measured to try and land cleaner shots.

'MVP' touted Edwards' somewhat underrated wrestling ability in previously taking down Usman when they fought. He felt that as the UFC 304 headliner got into deeper waters that the champ would be able to be more proficient in the striking. Conversely, Michael Page sees Muhammad getting sloppier in that department. The native of England thinks Edwards will retain the belt via decision.

Check out Page's comments on the fight below (14:20):