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Michael Page decisions Jared Cannonier at UFC 319
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Saturday's UFC 319 main card featured a middleweight bout between No. 9 ranked former title challenger Jared Cannonier and Michael "Venom" Page

Page returned to the 185-pound division in his previous outing, defeating Shara Magomedov by decision in February. Cannonier snapped a two-fight losing streak in his previous fight, defeating Gregory Rodrigues via TKO. 

Both men looked to establish their jabs early. Page had his hands down to his sides bouncing on the outside. Cannonier inched forward. He caught a kick and clinched. Page tossed Cannonier to the side and was back at distance. Page dropped Cannonier with a right hand and let him up. Page taunted Cannonier and Cannonier closed the distance and clinched. They separated in the closing seconds. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Page.

Page connected with a right hand early in the second frame. Cannonier responded with a leg kick. They exchanged right hands. Page bounced on the outside and landed a combination that sent Cannonier to the ground. Cannonier quickly got to his feet and pressured Page. Page stayed just out of range of Cannonier's punches. They clinched with two minutes remaining in the round. Cannonier tripped Page to the ground, but Page quickly got back to his feet. Cannonier connected with a right hand and clinched. The round ended with the two working for position along the cage. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Page. 

Page landed a left hand to start the third. Cannonier pressured Page. Page connected with a high hand. Cannonier landed and took Page down. Cannonier maintained top position but didn't do much damage. He isolated an arm while in half guard. Page got it free. Cannonier looked to advance his position but Page kept him in half guard. Cannonier connected with a hard elbow. Page held on from the bottom. MMAWeekly scored the round 10-9 for Cannonier. 

The judges scored the fight for Page via unanimous decision. All three scorecards read 29-28.

This article first appeared on MMA Weekly and was syndicated with permission.

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