’He’s Not Normal’: Michael Venom Page Reveals What It’s Really Like Training With Khamzat Chimaev
Michael “Venom” Page heads into UFC London praising Khamzat Chimaev’s level in the gym while questioning the middleweight title shot order that has Sean Strickland booked to challenge the champion later this year.
Michael Venom Page set for UFC London return
Michael Page fights fellow Englishman Sam Patterson in a welterweight bout at the O2 Arena on 21 March at UFC London, a card headlined by Lerone Murphy vs Movsar Evloev. Page, 38, is a former Bellator standout who signed with the UFC in 2024 and currently sits in the top 15 at welterweight. His matchup with Patterson follows a run in which Patterson has put together several stoppage wins since a difficult UFC debut in 2023.
Training link between Page and Khamzat Chimaev
Page spent time in Dubai working alongside Khamzat Chimaev in 2024, when both were preparing for key UFC dates, and that stint has been a talking point among fighters and fans. Irish contender Ian Garry’s teammate Caolan Loughran previously claimed Page “battered” Chimaev in sparring, a story Page has since rejected by explaining that confusion arose because his teammate Norbert Novényi Jr was the one who actually went with Chimaev in those rounds.
Page has described that camp as a chance to see Chimaev’s wrestling intensity on the mat and his approach to long sessions that cycle through fresh partners, with the Chechen-born champion often pushing through entire rooms of training partners without a visible drop in output.
In the build-up to UFC London, Page revisited that experience, saying he has “had the pleasure of seeing Khamzat in the gym, working very closely with him” and calling him “a monster” and “not normal” after watching how he handles live rounds. He framed that perspective as coming from firsthand work at elite level, noting how much more difficult it is to appreciate Chimaev’s pace, chain wrestling, and ability to control positions until sharing mats with him.
“I don’t even think that fight should exist right now. I feel like Imavov deserved the fight, and that’s the fight we should be talking about. But I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Khamzat in the gym, working very closely with him. That guy’s a monster. He’s not normal. Seeing him up close and personal, it was beautiful. He’s going to be a tough person to beat.”
Chimaev–Strickland title backdrop
Chimaev is scheduled to defend his UFC middleweight belt against former champion Sean Strickland at UFC 328 on 9 May in Newark, his first defense since winning the title last August. The booking came as the promotion weighed Strickland against rising contender Nassourdine Imavov, who has pieced together a strong run but also has a prior loss to Strickland from their January 2023 main-event meeting.
Page made clear he believes Imavov should have been next in line, saying “I feel like Imavov deserved the fight,” even as he backed Chimaev to be “a tough person to beat” based on what he has seen in training. From his vantage point, the Strickland matchup sits on top of a middleweight division where contenders like Imavov are closing in, but Chimaev’s gym form suggests the champion remains a daunting assignment for anyone at 185 pounds.
