Michael “Venom” Page was not pleased with his performance last night.
Page made it four wins in a row following a unanimous decision victory over the previously undefeated Ross Houston at Bellator 248 on Saturday.
And part of the reason why Page was unable to deliver his signature knockout finish was because of the canvas being slippery. As a result, he had to completely change up his game plan against Houston.
“I don’t like to make any type of excuses whatsoever, and I’ve been in that situation before, bu this is the worst I’ve ever had it,” Page told reporters after the fight (via MMA Junkie). “The canvas was so slippery, I literally I couldn’t execute any of my game plans because my whole game derives on me moving my feet and being able to be agile, in and out, land shots and get out.
“Again, I don’t know if people will be able to see it in the fight, but I had to change my fighting style. I threw a punch and spun myself around and he threw a kick and literally threw himself off. I could see he was being tentative on his kicks and not throwing them with any kind of maliciousness and it was basically because the canvas was so slippery.
“I had to go traditional boxing and not throw many kicks, not bounce, so I made myself an average fighter, which is a lot harder to cover the ground that I need to land the shots. I had to play the grappling game, which again, I’m happy to do, but I don’t care for. I want to have a spectacular finish, but it is what it is.”
While many have criticized the level of Page’s opponents of late, Houston was a considerable step up being a former Cage Warriors champion.
And while Page is now targeting a rematch with current welterweight king Douglas Lima, he is open to competing again as the latter attempts to become a two-weight champion against Gegard Mousasi for the vacant middleweight strap. More than anything, it’s to remind people of what he’s capable of.
“As soon as possible to be fair,” Page added of a return to action. “If I was to take one more fight before Douglas Lima, but as you said, he’s got another fight and he’ll probably have a little time off, then I’ll keep busy and get another fight between that. But yeah, to be fair, I’m annoyed at that performance, so I just kind of want to get back out there and just remind people who MVP is.”
What do you make of Page’s comments?