Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Michael ‘Venom’ Page is looking forward to a rematch with Douglas Lima.
UK fan favorite Michael ‘Venom’ Page experienced a huge setback earlier this year at Bellator 221, suffering a devastating knockout loss to three-time welterweight champ Douglas Lima in the semi-finals of Bellator’s welterweight grand prix.
Speaking to ESPN in a recent interview, however, ‘MVP’ said he felt he was winning the bout up until Lima floored him with a leg-kick, uppercut combo in the second round and is confident he will beat the Brazilian in the rematch.
“It just made it more exciting that he actually got the belt,” Page said. “It just means there are two things I’ve got to look forward to when I beat him. The knockout [by Lima] was spectacular, but before any of that actually happened, I felt like I was dominating. I had just rocked him, even on the ground I nullified him, [but] when I hit him and saw his legs go, I kind of got overexcited. I know that I can beat him, so I just want to get it back.”
The Lima bout marked the first professional loss of his MMA career but, according to Page, defeat is nothing new. The London Shootfighter says he used to get his ‘ass kicked’ all the time during the first five or six years of his kickboxing career.
“I used to get my ass kicked week in and week out for about five or six years when I was kickboxing. So, for me getting beaten is not new,” he said. “It’s new for everybody else, because they haven’t seen it happen since I’ve been fighting in MMA. But, in general it really isn’t new to me. If I could’ve lost to anybody in the world, I’m actually glad it was him, because I respect him as a person, as a man, and as a martial artist. So for me it’s bittersweet.”
Page will return to action this Saturday, Nov. 23 against Giovanni Melillo in the Bellator London II main event at SSE Arena.