Bellator Champ Douglas Lima Wants Stiffer Competition For Michael Page

Douglas Lima knows Michael Page wants to avenge his lone career loss, but the Bellator welterweight champion wants to see more. Back in May, Lima and Page did battle in the semifinals of the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix. Lima handed “Ve…

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Michael Page Felt He Was More Dominant, Eyeing Douglas Lima Rematch

Bellator star Michael “Venom” Page wants a rematch with current welterweight champion Douglas Lima as soon as possible. The pair competed in the semifinal stage of the Bellator welterweight grand prix in May. It ended with Lima landing the highlight reel knockout finish to hand Page his first-ever professional defeat. Lima would go on to […]

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Bellator star Michael “Venom” Page wants a rematch with current welterweight champion Douglas Lima as soon as possible.

The pair competed in the semifinal stage of the Bellator welterweight grand prix in May. It ended with Lima landing the highlight reel knockout finish to hand Page his first-ever professional defeat.

Lima would go on to defeat Rory MacDonald in the finals to become a three-time Bellator welterweight champion. That result didn’t surprise Page one bit:

“I had already predicted him as being the winner, so it wasn’t a shock to me,” Page said on the latest episode of MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast. “Out of everybody in the whole game of MMA, if I could have lost to anyone I’m glad it was him.

“I do respect him as a person and a martial artist. I’m happy for him and his family, it’s great, but I still want to take it back from him so I hope he’s enjoying it now.

Despite feeling he was the more dominant fighter against Lima, “MVP” learned a lot from the setback:

“I’ve taken a lot of positives from it,” he added. “I felt like I was in control the whole time. Fro, the start right up until the finish I felt like I was the more dominant one. I got in and out and I landed my shots. Obviously, I rocked him, and I think I just got a bit excited after that. His legs started to wobble and I messed up from there.

“I know for a fact that if I could keep that momentum going I’d be an even better fighter next time and I’m looking forward to it.”

Lima Open To Page Rematch

Page has since bounced back with a knockout win over Richard Kiely. He takes on Giovanni Melillo at Bellator London this weekend. With another win, the Briton is hoping to get his rematch with Lima.

Luckily for him, “The Phenom” is open to it:

“I want that immediately…as soon as possible, definitely in the new year,” Page said. “I’m just going to do what’s best for my career, so I want that rematch as soon as possible.

“… He’s already mentioned that he’d be happy to give me that rematch and I think that it’s great that he’s in that mind frame. We have mutual respect, so it’s all good.”

How do you think a rematch between Lima and Page goes?

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Bellator’s Douglas Lima Confident He Would Knock Out Kamaru Usman

Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima doubled down on his claims that he would beat UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman. Lima regained the welterweight title following a dominant unanimous decision win over Rory MacDonald at Bellator 232 last month. In the process, he became a three-time Bellator champion with 11 wins in his last 13 outings. […]

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Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima doubled down on his claims that he would beat UFC welterweight king Kamaru Usman.

Lima regained the welterweight title following a dominant unanimous decision win over Rory MacDonald at Bellator 232 last month. In the process, he became a three-time Bellator champion with 11 wins in his last 13 outings.

Debates naturally came up afterward about who the best welterweight in the world was. Lima obviously believes he’s one of the best, but the fact that he’s being considered by many despite not being in the UFC is something that excites him:

“I consider myself one of the best,” Lima told MMA Fighting. “I’ll fight anyone in the division no matter where they are. I believe I’d beat any one of those guys (in the UFC). Rankings are complicated, anyone has their opinion, but seeing that many consider me the best excites me even more.”

If he got his way, “The Phenom” would face the best the UFC has to offer. So naturally, he would love to face Usman, who is yet to taste defeat with the promotion:

“The champion, no doubt,” Lima added of who he’d want to face. “I would choose the one who’s considered the best. Usman is really tough, has good wrestling, so I wouldn’t think twice before choosing him. It would be a big fight.

“He’s on a roll, (and) he’s breaking everyone, so it would be a good fight for me, even if his style doesn’t favor me. I had problems with wrestlers in the past, and he has good wrestling. But I’m evolving, (and) I’m feeling great. I don’t think too much about it, but it would be great if that happened.”

Lima previously claimed he was better than “The Nigerian Nightmare” and believes if that fight did come to fruition, it would only end in one way:

“A knockout, right? For sure,” Lima said. “I’d go for the knockout. He has knockout power, but he usually wins by decision. I believe we would eventually find that chin.”

Do you agree with Lima?

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Bellator Champion & Former Foe Feels Ben Askren Lost His Hunger

Ben Askren lacks the desire he once had, at least that’s what one Bellator champion thinks. Askren did battle with Demian Maia in the main event of UFC Singapore this past Saturday (Oct. 26). “Funky” wanted to rebound from a record-se…

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Scott Coker Says Rory MacDonald’s Bellator Contract Is Not Expired

It appears that Rory MacDonald’s Bellator contract is not expired after all. It was believed that MacDonald’s welterweight title fight with Douglas Lima at Bellator 232 on Saturday was the last of his deal. MacDonald would lose the fight — and his title as a result — via unanimous decision as well and claimed afterward […]

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It appears that Rory MacDonald’s Bellator contract is not expired after all.

It was believed that MacDonald’s welterweight title fight with Douglas Lima at Bellator 232 on Saturday was the last of his deal. MacDonald would lose the fight — and his title as a result — via unanimous decision as well and claimed afterward that he would be open to a trilogy.

However, he would need to sort out his contract first.

“It’s very likely,” MacDonald said of a trilogy fight. “I mean we had two close fights. He won one, I won one. It’s kind of inevitable that we’ll probably fight again. … I wouldn’t say no. If they wanted to do it, they could do it.

“… First I’ve got to re-sign. My contract expired so we’ve got to deal with that situation but if they want to give me a title shot, sure.”

However, that’s not the case according to Bellator president Scott Coker who didn’t dive into much detail:

”Rory’s contract has not expired, and we have remaining rights,” Coker told MMA Fighting.

It is possible that like many contracts, MacDonald’s has a clause that allows Bellator to not only have the sole right to offer a new deal, but also match deals from other promoters once a typically 90-day period has passed.

Coker would certainly like to keep MacDonald but it ultimately depends on all parties:

”I think he’s a great fighter,” he added. “I think he’s probably the No. 2 welterweight in our roster, so yeah, we would love to. But we’ll see.”

Do you think MacDonald will stay at Bellator? Or do you think he will retire?

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Bellator Welterweight Champ Douglas Lima Believes He’s Better Than UFC’s Kamaru Usman

Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima believes he would win in a potential cross-promotional fight with the UFC’s 170-pound king Kamaru Usman. Lima became a three-time welterweight champion after outpointing Rory MacDonald in the Bellator 232 headliner on Saturday. It made it 11 wins in the last 13 fights for “The Phenom” who cemented his place […]

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Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima believes he would win in a potential cross-promotional fight with the UFC’s 170-pound king Kamaru Usman.

Lima became a three-time welterweight champion after outpointing Rory MacDonald in the Bellator 232 headliner on Saturday. It made it 11 wins in the last 13 fights for “The Phenom” who cemented his place as one of the best 170-pounders on the planet.

Comparisons with Usman were natural but Lima believes he would emerge victorious, regardless of who the champion is.

“For sure, I think about it every time (fighting Kamaru Usman or Tyron Woodley). Especially after a win like this,” Lima told TMZ (via BJ Penn). “I know real MMA fans, they recognize, they know I’m up there with those guys.

“They know I can beat, I can fight any of them. But, most of them it’s like, ‘Man, you’re not in the UFC, you’re a nobody.’”

Lima is not a fan of people looking down on fighters just because they’re not competing in the UFC. It’s one of the reasons why he’s hoping for a cross-promotional event in the future:

“Man, I hate that,” he added. “That’s people who don’t understand the sport. It’s not the name UFC or Bellator or ONE FC. There’s killers everywhere. Now Scott Coker is doing co-promotions with Rizin. I would love if we do that with the UFC.”

As for the matchup with Usman, Lima acknowledges that “The Nigerian Nightmare” has high-level wrestling that has served him well in keeping him undefeated in the UFC. However, Lima also believes it wouldn’t matter if he were to connect on him:

“Of course I would do great, I’d beat him,” Lima said. “I’d probably KO him. He’s a great wrestler for sure, he wrestles a lot. But man, at any point in that fight if I connect, I can put him away. I don’t even think about that, I just know I can beat him, I can beat anybody at this weight class.

“I’m not talking bad about the guy. He’s a champion there. He’s doing his thing. But, I just know it, man. If one day something like this happens, I definitely believe in myself to go over there and kill it.”

Do you agree with Lima?

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