Michael “Venom” Page had created real estate to work and was really getting loose in the cage, even rocking Douglas Lima with a lightning quick combination that ended with a lunging right hand just over the temple.
And then … it happened.
Lima caught Page with a kick that buckled his left leg. Page made the mistake attempting to get back up off the canvas in a hurry and when he did, Lima came across his jaw with a vicious right that knocked “MVP” out cold. His limp body careened to the floor, with the Brazilian veteran adding in some hammer fists, before referee Mike Beltran rushed to shield Page as if he were a secret service agent taking a bullet.
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Just like that, MVP had suffered his first pro loss and in absolutely devastating fashion.
A KO so lurid would figure to send a fighter back to the drawing board, possibly to return with a new style, one would think. Well, Page didn’t get that memo. And if he did, he crumpled it and tossed it in the trash.
Ahead of facing Richard Kiely in the Bellator Dublin co-main event on Friday, MVP has vowed to be MVP — with his unique style and entertaining antics intact.
“My mindset is still the same,” Page told Sporting News. “We want to push and grow as a fighter, but that’s with my style. I actually don’t have to question my style or the effectiveness of my style because in that last fight, I felt very dominant up until I made those mistakes and it was more a me thing.
“So, it doesn’t change anything,” he continued. “It doesn’t make me question what I’m doing in there. Just cleaning up a few things and keep going. It’s a case of re-focusing and making sure that doesn’t happen in the next fight simply because when you’re fighting people of high levels, those mistakes can cost you the fight and that’s exactly what happened.”
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As for any threat Kiely (3-1) poses to Page (14-1) on Friday, let’s just say that MVP hasn’t lost sleep.
“Not much,” he said, commenting on the challenge his opponent will present. “He's just there to help me with my highlight reel, that's it. I don't see anything dangerous about him at all. He just got a big mouth and I'm trying to punch him in his face.”
That being said, it probably won’t take long for Page to drop his hands and crouch into a low, taunting stance straight out of Street Fighter. Perhaps, he’ll even treat fans to the Harlem Shake he broke out with in the cage against David Rickels last May as part of his otherworldly in-cage capers.
But that’d be against Kiely. If Page is going to prove that his style can remain intact, he’ll have to flash it effectively for a victory over the likes of a Lima or other top welterweight competition.
He’ll be eyeing the winner of the Rory MacDonald-Lima fight in the Bellator World Grand Prix final Oct. 26. Page said he’ll be back fighting in the cage in November and then would love to meet the MacDonald-Lima winner in early 2020, adding that he believes Lima will be victorious.
“My eyes are going to be open for that one,” Page said. “Probably in the New Year, I get a chance of redemption.”
If that opportunity arises, we’ll see if MVP can still do things his way, his style.
