The return of Bellator fan favourite Michael ‘Venom’ Page has been highly anticipated since his bout at Bellator 200 was announced, and Page did not disappoint. Page came to Wembley Arena to put on a show and he proved yet again why he is considered one of the best entertainers in the sport of mixed martial arts.
Michael Page looked composed and confident as he danced into the Bellator cage, whilst the crowd’s roars echoed around the arena. Throughout the early stages of the first round both fighters taunted and played to the crowd, but MVP seemed to win the mental warfare battle, with the crowd being massively on Page’s side. As the first round continued MVP looked more poised, landing at will and hurting his opponent David Rickels with counters and step-in elbows, opening up a cut on his left eye. Michael ‘Venom’ Page continued to look fluid, flowing in the cage as if he hadn’t had an 18-month break. Near the end of the first round, Page landed a straight right dropping Rickles and hurting him badly. Instead of seizing his opportunity, Page chose to taunt Rickles, letting him up in the process.
Going into the second round, you could sense that the moment seemed to get to Rickels, who began to look more and more flustered as the fight went on. Rickels still seemed disorientated from the damage in the first round. MVP landed another hard punch which opened up the cut on Rickles left eye even further. Page began to taunt his opponent again screaming “you’re f–ked” on several occasions. An injured, dazed and frustrated Rickles proclaimed to the referee that he was unable to continue due to the cut on his left eye and to the anger of the crowd, the fight was called off. Michael ‘Venom’ Page was awarded the TKO victory in the second round.
Despite the controversial ending, Michael ‘Venom’ Page looked like a superstar inside the Bellator cage. The way that he conducted the atmosphere of the London crowd helped aid him in his attempt to rattle his opponent.
The future is bright for the undefeated fighter, who is now 13-0 in his MMA career. A fight with fellow Englishmen and MMA veteran Paul Daley is a bout that both fighters have been pushing for, but Michael ‘Venom’ Page has claimed that “Paula ‘Tampax’ Daley” (A nickname he likes to call Daley) “don’t want none of me”.
See the full Michael ‘Venom’ Page’s Bellator 200 Media Scrum below:
Who should Michael ‘Venom’ Page face next?
