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The Joe Rogan Experience

JRE MMA Show #170 with Michael "Venom" Page

with Michael Page

Published October 3, 2025
Visit Podcast Website

About This Episode

Joe Rogan and Michael "Venom" Page discuss Page's unorthodox point-fighting-based striking style, his transition from traditional kickboxing to MMA, and the challenges he faced earning respect from critics and opponents. They break down the mental and strategic dimensions of fighting, including nerves, fun, pattern-breaking movement, wrestling and grappling realities, and the dangers of extreme weight cutting. The conversation also ranges across notable fighters and matchups, training philosophies, the importance of self-marketing as a fighter, and how Page is preparing creatively for life after MMA.

Topics Covered

Mixed martial arts Boxing Weight cutting Wrestling Marketing and customer education Entrepreneurship Personal Development Performance-enhancing drugs in sports

Disclaimer: We provide independent summaries of podcasts and are not affiliated with or endorsed in any way by any podcast or creator. All podcast names and content are the property of their respective owners. The views and opinions expressed within the podcasts belong solely to the original hosts and guests and do not reflect the views or positions of Summapod.

Quick Takeaways

  • Michael Page's point-fighting background gives him a unique, hard-to-solve striking style that many MMA fighters have never faced until fight night.
  • Developing takedown defense and basic grappling is the key hurdle that allows an elusive striker to fully weaponize an unconventional stand-up game.
  • Modern elite MMA success requires not just fighting skill but deliberate self-marketing through walkouts, mic work, and a recognizable persona.
  • Extreme weight cutting is widely accepted but deeply unhealthy, and both Rogan and Page argue that it distorts weight classes and fighter safety.
  • Page emphasizes keeping fighting fun and expressive as a way to manage anxiety and perform at his best under the lights.
  • Early years of repeatedly losing in point fighting built Page's resilience and eventually led to a sudden performance breakthrough that changed his trajectory.
  • Many of the most physically gifted fighters struggle to reproduce their gym brilliance under pressure without mental skills and structure.
  • Rogan argues that childhood competition, hardship, and honest feedback (rather than overprotection) are crucial for building real-world toughness.
  • Female athletes face different physiological constraints than men, and training and weight cutting for women should account for menstrual cycle phases.
  • Page is already building a post-fighting career in creative work like filmmaking so that he can leave MMA on his own terms.

Podcast Notes

Introduction and Michael Page's gratitude to Rogan

Page thanks Rogan for publicly supporting point-fighting style in MMA

Page describes receiving heavy criticism and hate when he first entered MMA despite early viral success[0:43]
• His first MMA fight went well with a crazy kick that went viral online, but the reaction was mostly negative comments about his style and opponents
He appreciates Rogan for consistently championing his elusive, point-based striking approach[0:59]

Rogan's longstanding belief in point fighters in MMA

Rogan explains he argued for years that point fighters were "what's missing" in MMA

He was mocked early on for suggesting point fighters would be effective, but he had sparred with high-level point fighters and knew how hard they were to hit[1:17]
Rogan compares elite point fighting to fencing combined with martial arts: distance, elusiveness, and tagging without being touched[1:34]

Page contrasts point fighting with full-contact striking

He says most full-contact sports fixate on power, whereas point fighting emphasizes pure speed: get in, tag, and get out[2:28]
He compares the movement and footwork to fencing, calling it an unfamiliar style inside MMA[3:27]
He notes very few point fighters historically crossed into full-contact, mentioning Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson and Raymond Daniels as exceptions[3:57]

Rogan on Page as proof-of-concept for point fighting in MMA

Transition from point fighting to MMA with added grappling

Rogan says Page became the proof of concept: a world-champion-level point fighter who added takedown defense and submissions becomes a nightmare matchup[3:07]
He emphasizes that every fight starts standing in a big cage, giving a massive advantage to a striker who has solved takedown defense[4:48]
Rogan recalls Kevin Holland being visibly frustrated and lost against Page's style[5:26]

Psychological warfare and frustration factor

Page says his style is designed to frustrate opponents who have no experience with such movement and distance[6:02]
Rogan cites Page telling Jared Cannonier to "calm down" right after hurting him, calling it brutal psychological warfare[5:43]
• He paints the scene: Cannonier's eyes are watering and nose hurting while Page taunts him to calm down, compounding the damage with humiliation
Page notes that his antics plus making opponents feel helpless added to criticisms that he only fought "cans"[10:23]
He insists his opponents are talented; he just fights on a different wavelength and timing, making fights look easier than they are[10:23]
Rogan points out that Page's style has real power behind it, citing the Cyborg knockout as an example that it's not just "tippy-tappy" striking[10:43]

The Cyborg Santos knockout and its aftermath

Severity of the injury

Rogan calls the Cyborg fight one of the craziest knockouts in MMA history and says it produced the most gruesome injury he has ever seen[11:22]
Page explains that doctors told Cyborg his skull fracture was something they'd only previously seen in car accidents, never in combat sports[12:22]
He notes Cyborg initially talked about a rematch but doctors effectively ended that idea after seeing the damage[12:41]

Page's emotions and later meeting Cyborg

Page says he didn't realize the extent of the damage during the celebration; he assumed it was a normal knockout or perhaps a broken nose[10:43]
He only found out the next day how bad the injury was and felt very bad about it[14:15]
He met Cyborg about two years later when Cyborg brought a student to fight one of Page's teammates, who then broke the student's leg with a leg lock[14:15]
• Page describes entering the room afterward, feeling extremely awkward as Cyborg's fighter was being treated and Cyborg's energy felt cold and tense
He shook Cyborg's hand, sensed it was "not the right time" emotionally, and has not seen him since, still feeling bad but uncertain what else he could do[18:27]

London Shootfighters, Lee Murray, and Page's route into MMA

Connection with Rogan's grappling circle

Page mentions one of his coaches, Marius, who trained with Joe and Eddie Bravo for several years, linking Page's gym to Rogan's network[21:29]
Rogan recalls knowing Marius for about 20 years and notes London Shootfighters' long history in UK MMA[21:29]

Initial view of MMA and decision shift

Page says as a points fighter he initially saw MMA as brutally violent and doubted he was tough enough to compete there[22:41]
He had a successful but stagnant kickboxing career, repeatedly fighting the same top opponents like Raymond Daniels with little recognition or financial reward[23:30]
• He describes returning home after winning world titles with no sponsorships, no money, and no public recognition beyond his own enjoyment of competing
As he got older and needed to work, he realized kickboxing couldn't sustain him and decided he needed a new combat sport path[24:55]

Retiring from points and exploring gyms

To avoid being drawn back into point tournaments, he told everyone he was retiring and looked at full-contact boxing, kickboxing, and MMA gyms instead[25:13]
His first serious MMA gym visit was American Top Team in Coconut Creek while visiting his sister in Florida, and he initially planned to relocate there[27:42]
A friend suggested he also check out UK gyms before moving; after visiting several, he discovered London Shootfighters and resonated with the coaching style[28:03]

First grappling experiences and humility

London Shootfighters was his first exposure to grappling; he had never done any grappling before that[28:47]
He was constantly getting tapped out and "applauded" (submitted) every few seconds during early training[28:57]
Despite the humiliation of being twisted into a pretzel by guys he thought he could destroy on the street, he loved the challenge and craved improving[29:32]

Childhood point fighting, losing streak, and breakthrough

Years of losing to siblings and local rivals

Page explains he was the one in his family who kept losing; his older siblings consistently won medals while he got his "ass kicked" every weekend[33:29]
They traveled constantly around the UK for competitions, and he would come home bloodied while his siblings displayed piles of medals[36:25]

World championship qualifier and sudden performance shift

Around age 11-12 he unexpectedly won an AYASKA qualifier in Birmingham, which alone felt like a major success[37:06]
At the World Championships in Orlando he fought an unusually large number of bouts due to different seeding rules and recalls being exhausted and confused by how many fights he had[37:49]
He ended up winning the world title after roughly 10 fights in a single day and collapsing in relief, shocking his family who had not expected this from him[40:33]
After that tournament something "clicked"; he went home and began easily beating all the same fighters who had previously dominated him[40:45]
• He describes entering a "matrix"-like state where kicks he used to walk into were now easy to avoid and his timing dramatically improved

Competing with adults as a teenager

At 13 he begged his father to let him fight in the seniors (18+); his father resisted as a dad but knew as a coach that Page could handle it[42:23]
He won his senior weight division against grown men and then fought in the Grand Championships against the winners of all weight classes, beating many top UK fighters[42:52]
He lost a very close final that he and his father felt was a robbery, but from then on his dad could never tell him "no" about taking on bigger challenges[43:28]

Learning through observation

As a child he was required to sit and watch senior fighters after his own bouts instead of playing, which he believes helped him become a strong visual learner[45:42]
Rogan relates his own experience at a taekwondo World Cup as a spectator, where merely watching elite competitors immediately elevated his own performance[47:17]

Origin of the nickname "Venom" and creative mindset

Power at a young age and nickname genesis

At age nine he trained in mixed adult-kid classes; while he was losing fights, when he did land on kids his own size they really felt his shots[49:57]
A friend commented that he had "venom" in him, and they were both into old kung fu films including "Five Deadly Venoms," which inspired the nickname[50:13]
Page would invent moves based on different "venoms" (like scorpion or toad) and try them in sparring, cultivating a habit of creative experimentation from early on[52:27]

Aversion to convention and pattern-breaking

He says he has never liked doing anything conventionally; if everyone walks one way, he wants to see what's in the opposite direction[51:48]
This creative impulse led him to modify basic moves like a jab, adding flair and inventiveness rather than sticking to standard technique[51:37]
Rogan notes that this non-standard pattern makes Page particularly hard to read, because MMA is often based on recognizing typical patterns and counters[53:09]
• While other fighters expect orthodox entries, calf kicks, and predictable sequences, Page's sideways stance, hands-down movement, and rhythm breaks force opponents to think on the fly

Sparring challenges and style advantages

Difficulty finding willing sparring partners

Page says early on many fighters wanted to try sparring him, but word spread quickly and it became hard to find sparring because few saw value in training for a style they'd never face in fights[55:42]
He understands their logic but points out that his teammates, who are forced to spar him, report that everyone else then feels slow by comparison[55:48]

Rogan on the exhaustion of facing Page

Rogan explains that Page's constant feints and rhythm shifts force opponents to stay at high alert every second, draining their energy bar even before clean strikes land[56:48]
He notes that from the outside it can look like Page is just standing there, but inside the cage the opponent is tense, never knowing when the real attack will come[57:31]

Discussion of Tom Aspinall, Jon Jones, Francis Ngannou and heavyweight matchups

Tom Aspinall's unique heavyweight attributes

Page is a big fan of Tom Aspinall, noting that heavyweights simply do not move like him; he compares Aspinall's speed and movement to a middleweight[58:18]
Rogan calls Aspinall incredibly fast and powerful for his size and highlights that Jon Jones, despite being possibly the greatest ever, is not particularly fast compared to Aspinall[58:36]
Both discuss how Jones vs Aspinall would be a complicated matchup because Aspinall is hard to take down and is a big natural heavyweight[59:57]

Francis Ngannou's story and missed UFC opportunities

They marvel at Francis Ngannou's background of working in sand mines as a child in Cameroon and his perilous journey through Morocco to Europe, calling it "a movie"[1:00:36]
Rogan says Ngannou has incredible genetics plus a fierce mindset forged by hardship, making him uniquely dangerous at heavyweight[1:01:35]
Both express frustration that Ngannou left the UFC before fighting Jon Jones, seeing it as a massive lost opportunity for the sport and for marketability[1:01:53]
They describe Ngannou as a "big friendly giant" outside the cage yet a destroyer inside, arguing he is extraordinarily sellable as a ferocious knockout artist[1:01:24]

Merab Dvalishvili, training habits, and Page's own lack of strict structure

Merab's unorthodox lifestyle and mental toughness

Rogan recounts Merab saying he doesn't do sauna, cold plunges, or stretching; he just shows up late, trains hard, and cuts weight by simply stopping eating and drinking on Tuesday[1:07:46]
He emphasizes Merab's "Fort Knox" mental toughness, noting fights where he escaped deep submissions and came back from being nearly out on his feet[1:09:27]

Page's own unstructured approach

Page says he also lacks rigid structure; he follows a prescribed weight-cut process from his team but otherwise does not have a highly systematized regimen[1:11:46]

Frustrations with matchmaking, UFC roster size, and Page's desired path

Difficulty getting matched due to being a "hard sell"

Page assumed that joining the UFC would make opponents eager to fight him to prove he was overrated, but he finds it's still hard to get opponents[1:14:55]
He references Robert Whittaker reportedly saying he wasn't interested in fighting Page because it's a dangerous style matchup at this stage of his career[1:15:26]
Page notes that as he keeps winning, fewer fighters put their hands up to fight him, especially with his awkward style at either 170 or 185[1:16:13]

Page's proposed roadmap at welterweight

After his last fight he messaged UFC matchmaker Hunter Campbell proposing to fight another undefeated fighter, Michael Morales, in November[1:16:13]
He suggested then fighting the winner of Leon Edwards vs Shavkat Rakhmonov in a UK event, and potentially another top contender on the July card leading to a title shot[1:17:01]

UFC roster size and scheduling bottleneck

Rogan notes the UFC has 674 fighters under contract, with events almost every week but limited slots, making it hard to keep everyone active multiple times per year[1:45:58]
They discuss how integrating the Bellator roster under the new Paramount deal is likely slowing things down further as contracts and schedules are aligned[1:45:13]

Evolution of MMA talent and importance of youth exposure

New generation training with full MMA awareness

Rogan observes that today's kids grow up watching Anderson Silva, Jon Jones, and Chuck Liddell, so even their play fighting reflects correct stances and techniques[1:46:48]
He notes schoolyards where kids are calf-kicking each other and learning submission names, building neuromuscular patterns that translate into advanced MMA skill at a young age[1:48:22]
He predicts more elite 22-year-olds with world-class jiu-jitsu, striking, wrestling, and cardio all combined[1:48:49]

High-level prospects and composure

They discuss Aaron Pico as an example of extreme talent who initially lacked composure under fire, contrasting him with Larone Murphy's perfect technique and timing[1:50:11]
Larone Murphy's spinning elbow KO over Pico is cited as a work of art and an example of someone who can execute under pressure at the highest level[1:50:02]

Self-marketing, personas, and walkouts

Need for fighters to market themselves

Page tells teammates that just beating people is not enough; promotions will prioritize fighters who generate buzz over equally skilled but quiet athletes[1:28:51]
He stresses fighters only get a few seconds on the mic post-fight, so they need clear, concise messages or catchphrases that make them memorable[1:32:39]

Influence from WWE and The Rock

Before his first fight, Page spent hours studying WWE promos, especially Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's ability to control crowds with simple sayings and body language[1:33:16]
He designed his snake-hand pose and catchphrases to create a consistent visual and verbal identity, similar to iconic wrestling entrances[1:33:22]
He uses walkout theatrics, dances, and celebrations (like the Pokéball after the Cyborg KO) so that different audiences remember him for different moments and gradually learn his name[1:35:13]

Examples of great fight marketers

They praise Chael Sonnen for pioneering modern MMA trash talk and balancing promotion with authenticity[1:32:42]
They credit Conor McGregor with taking mic work to another level, delivering instantly quotable lines like "Who the fuck is that guy" to Jeremy Stephens[1:31:58]
They also highlight Alex Pereira's stoic Amazon-warrior persona and signature walkout as an example where "no personality" becomes a powerful personality[1:56:28]

Grappling, stalling, and legitimacy of boring winning styles

Debate over stalling grapplers

Page accepts that wrestling is a beautiful and essential art but dislikes when fighters take him down and merely hold on without genuine attempts to finish[2:06:08]
Rogan argues that even if it's boring, a fighter who can reliably take Page down and hold him there for three rounds is legitimately winning within the rules[2:10:27]
He distinguishes between elite finishers like Khabib, who maul opponents on the ground, and others who only have positional control but notes both are valid competitive paths[2:11:51]

Hamzat Chimaev vs Dricus du Plessis as a case study

They discuss Chimaev's fight where he repeatedly put Dricus in crucifixes but did limited damage, speculating his corner prioritized a safe win over riskier ground-and-pound[2:13:52]
Rogan relays that Chimaev reportedly asked in the corner if he could "box now" and his team insisted he keep grappling for the surest path to victory[2:13:33]

Extreme weight cutting, dangers, and Page's approach

Rogan's critique of extreme cuts

Rogan calls weight cutting "legalized cheating" and hates that fighters dehydrate themselves 24 hours before facing brain trauma in a cage[2:03:21]
He cites examples like Travis Lutter, TJ Dillashaw at flyweight, and Brian Ortega's near-30-minute coma as cases where the cut badly undermined performance and safety[3:26:48]
He suggests more frequent weight and hydration checks, similar to drug testing, and weight classes spaced every 10 pounds to reflect actual walking-around weights[3:23:22]

Page's relatively moderate cuts

Page says at middleweight he comes into fight week around 190 pounds and cuts only about five pounds through a light jog and sauna sessions[3:28:42]
At welterweight he gets down to roughly 182-183 before cutting to 170, which he still finds manageable and far from the most extreme cuts he has seen[3:28:55]
He describes his cut as 30 minutes of easy jogging in a sauna suit followed by two 15-minute sauna sessions with wrapping, which Rogan calls therapeutic rather than harmful[3:33:41]

Fighting through injuries and Ankalayev vs Pereira rematch

Shoulder issues and fighting compromised

Page reveals he fought several Bellator bouts when he could not do a push-up due to supraspinatus and rotator cuff problems but continued because he could still punch and kick[3:48:45]
He contrasts his rehab-first approach with fighters like TJ Dillashaw who postponed shoulder surgery for years and ended up with severe, possibly irreversible damage[3:43:53]

Severe ankle issue before Ian Garry fight

Page says the day before his Ian Garry fight he woke up unable to stand on his left foot; UFC PI staff tried shock therapy and acupuncture to fix what seemed like an ankle problem[3:50:03]
He had both ankles taped under supports (to stay within rules) and his coach considered pulling him, but Page refused and adjusted his movement to get through the fight[3:50:49]

Ankalayev vs Pereira context and rematch intrigue

Rogan notes reports that Pereira had a hurt left hand and rotavirus in the first fight with Magomed Ankalayev, which might explain his off performance[3:55:51]
Page observed that Pereira only started landing effective calf kicks late, suggesting he lacked gas early and was conserving energy[3:56:16]
They expect a very different second fight if Pereira is healthy, but also note the championship "bump" that may make Ankalayev even better as defending champion[3:56:45]
Rogan mentions hearing Pereira came into fight week around 230 pounds, underscoring how massive his cuts are for light heavyweight[3:57:27]

Mental game, anxiety, fun, and upbringing

Keeping fighting fun as anxiety management

Page says that when he's dancing, smiling, and joking in the cage, everything slows down and becomes enjoyable, which keeps stress low[2:41:54]
If he feels tension or stress rising, he may start dancing more; sometimes it's not about mocking the opponent but about resetting his own state[2:42:37]
He doesn't need anger to fight and attributes this to growing up fighting siblings he loved, separating competition from hostility[2:43:28]

Day-of-fight pressure vs the fight itself

Rogan argues the hardest part is the day of the fight-the waiting, pressure, and anticipation-not the fight itself once it starts[2:45:03]
They cite Khalil Rountree standing brave in front of Pereira despite being badly hurt as an example of ultimate courage under that pressure[2:45:23]

Impact of siblings and home environment

Rogan says growing up with older brothers who can beat you up habituates you to hostility and competition in a way kids without that don't experience[2:47:55]
They discuss Jon Jones growing up with NFL-caliber brothers as an example of a household of "beasts" that sets a competitive mindset from childhood[2:50:15]

Critique of overprotective schooling and participation trophies

Page criticizes UK school policy changes like banning kids from picking teams to avoid hurt feelings, arguing it deprives them of useful competitive pain[2:51:50]
They mock participation trophies and emphasize that the bad feeling of losing is beneficial, analogous to soreness after a workout that leads to growth[2:56:55]
Rogan notes that when life is too soft, people focus on microaggressions and trivial grievances because they lack real challenges[2:53:47]

First viral MMA fight and social media hate

Walkout nerves and in-cage transformation

Page recalls his first MMA fight walkout as filled with fear and self-doubt, unlike his usual relaxed vibe in training[3:05:05]
Once the bell rang he felt at home; his timing and "MVP" persona emerged quickly and he delivered a spectacular 720-style spinning kick KO[3:05:58]

Reaction to online comments

The knockout clip went crazy viral, but when Page eagerly checked YouTube comments he found almost exclusively negative feedback[3:08:58]
Rogan uses this to emphasize why fighters shouldn't read comments, saying they're largely from "the dumbest" viewers who miss the significance of what they're seeing[3:10:12]
Rogan explains that for him the clip validated his long-held view that elite point fighters represent a missing skill set in MMA[3:10:34]

Galore Bofando, unreal gym skills vs fight-night performance

Bofando's spectacular but underutilized abilities

Page describes teammate Galore Bofando as one of the most explosively creative strikers he's ever seen, capable of front-flip axe kicks and off-the-cage escapes in sparring[2:28:40]
He recalls instinctively X-blocking a takedown attempt even though Bofando never wrestles, only to be met with a front-flip axe kick that would've "split him in half" if it landed clean[2:29:23]
In one UFC fight Bofando KO'd Charlie Ward by dumping him on his head, but Page says he never showed even half of what he could do in the gym when he fought under lights[2:27:38]

Need for mental coaching

Page laments that in his gym era almost nobody used sports psychologists; only fighter Alex Reid brought therapists, and it was not taken very seriously[2:38:48]
He wishes someone had helped Bofando process what goes wrong mentally on fight night and given him tools to counter negative thoughts and shrinkage under pressure[2:37:46]

Pilates, yoga, and gender-specific training considerations

Pilates as stabilizer training and rehab

Page's wife is a Pilates instructor; when he did her sessions he was shocked at how hard they were and realized they target small stabilizer muscles fighters often neglect[4:05:01]
He credits Pilates work with helping his rehab from injuries, noting that big show muscles get attention while stabilizers do much of the joint-protective work[4:05:01]

Hot yoga humility

Page tried hot yoga, arrogantly choosing the hottest part of the room; within a few moves he became lightheaded and had to move away, gaining respect for its difficulty[4:04:07]

Women's menstrual cycles and training/weight-cut implications

Page explains that his wife built cycle-synced programming for women, recognizing that women have a 28-day hormonal cycle versus men's 24-hour rhythm[4:06:50]
He notes certain times are ideal for intense training and others require more gentle work; he says even cold plunges can be problematic at specific phases for women[4:08:23]
He points out that female fighters are often made to follow male-structured training and weight-cut protocols, even though their physiology makes them hold weight differently at certain cycle stages[4:09:17]
Rogan and Page agree that female fighters and coaches should consider scheduling fights and cuts around the menstrual cycle for better performance and safety[4:10:08]

Preparing for life after fighting: creativity and filmmaking

Motivation to create films

Page says he views fighting as an art form and wants to continue "painting pictures" after he retires, so he has begun making short films[4:18:39]
He has already made two short films: one about an athlete's obsessive mindset seen through a runner, and another about anxiety portrayed as two parallel waiting scenarios for good and bad news[4:18:39]
He dislikes how modern films lean on constant explosions with weak stories and wants to bring storytelling back to the forefront[4:18:26]

Identity beyond MMA

Page insists he will not be one of those fighters who retire and come back repeatedly; he wants strong post-fight passions so that when he's done, he's truly done[4:21:40]
Rogan praises this approach, saying it's crucial to have something you genuinely love outside fighting because leaving the sport is psychologically difficult[4:21:46]

Lessons Learned

Actionable insights and wisdom you can apply to your business, career, and personal life.

1

A unique, well-developed skill set can become a massive competitive edge if you combine it with enough fundamentals to cover your weaknesses, rather than trying to fit into a conventional mold.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What is one unusual skill or perspective you already have that could become a strategic advantage if you doubled down on it instead of hiding it?
  • • How can you layer basic fundamentals (like grappling for a striker) around your unique strengths so that others can't easily exploit your blind spots?
  • • Where in your current work or projects are you defaulting to the standard way of doing things instead of building around what makes you different?
2

Deliberate self-marketing-crafting a persona, story, and memorable moments-is part of being a professional in any field, not an optional extra once the work is done.

Reflection Questions:

  • • How clearly could a stranger describe who you are and what you stand for based only on how you present yourself publicly today?
  • • In what ways could you borrow ideas from entertainment (like walkouts, catchphrases, or visual cues) to make your work more memorable without becoming inauthentic?
  • • What is one small, repeatable element you could introduce into your presentations, meetings, or content that people would start to associate uniquely with you?
3

Early losses, harsh feedback, and being the underdog for years can build a depth of resilience and skill that sudden success never will-if you stay in the game long enough to let things click.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where in your past have you consistently struggled or "lost" in a way that might actually be laying foundations for future strengths?
  • • How could you reframe a current area of repeated failure as deliberate practice rather than proof that you're not good enough?
  • • What commitment or craft do you need to stay with for another year or two, despite slow progress, to give yourself the chance for that breakthrough "click" moment?
4

Managing your internal state-keeping things playful, focusing on expression, and having tools to interrupt anxiety-often matters more for performance than any technical tweak.

Reflection Questions:

  • • What specific signals tell you that stress or anxiety is starting to hijack your performance in high-pressure situations?
  • • How could you build a pre-performance ritual (like music, movement, or a simple behavior) that reliably shifts you into a more relaxed and expressive state?
  • • The next time you feel pressure rising, what is one small behavior you could use as a "reset button" to bring yourself back into the present moment?
5

Extreme short-term advantages that harm long-term health-like brutal weight cuts or ignoring injuries-rarely pay off compared to smarter, sustainable preparation.

Reflection Questions:

  • • Where are you currently pushing yourself in a way that might be winning you short-term battles but quietly damaging your long-term capacity?
  • • How could you redesign your preparation habits (sleep, recovery, workload) so that they support both performance and health instead of forcing a tradeoff?
  • • What boundary do you need to set with yourself or others this month to stop normalizing "extreme" practices that you know aren't sustainable?
6

Real toughness comes from exposure to honest competition and difficulty, not from being shielded from discomfort or failure.

Reflection Questions:

  • • In which areas of your life have you been protecting yourself (or others) from hard feedback or open competition, and what might that be costing you?
  • • How might seeking out a more challenging environment-where you're not the most capable person in the room-accelerate your growth?
  • • What is one concrete way you could introduce more real stakes or honest scorekeeping into a skill you're trying to improve?
7

Planning your identity and passions beyond your current career reduces the fear of letting go and allows you to exit on your own terms rather than clinging on too long.

Reflection Questions:

  • • If your current role or career ended two years from now, what creative or meaningful pursuits would you want to have already started building?
  • • How can you begin experimenting with a future identity (like teaching, creating, or building something) in small, low-risk ways alongside your main work?
  • • What would "leaving at the right time" look like for you, and what foundations would you need in place to feel comfortable making that decision?

Episode Summary - Notes by Kendall

JRE MMA Show #170 with Michael "Venom" Page
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