Michael “Venom” Page is a human highlight reel. At Bellator London 2, MVP provided another flashy KO within one round of the competition. Page implemented his “range with flash” trademark style and knocked out Giovanni Melillo with a flush right hand. Since then, he knocked out Shinsho Anzai at Bellator Japan and most recently won a decision over Ross Houston at Bellator 248. While the commentators and fans in the crowd were in awe of MVP’s performance, welterweight Douglas Lima was not impressed. Now, MVP thinks that Douglas Lima is “ducking” him.
History of MVP and Lima
Lima is the only blemish on MVP’s 16-1 record. At Bellator 221, Douglas Lima scored a highlight knockout of his own, KO’ing Page with a punch, less than a minute into the second round. Since that bout, Lima went on to defeat Rory MacDonald at Bellator 235 to become the Bellator Grand Prix and Welterweight champion.
Unfortunately for MVP, Lima isn’t interested in a rematch. His emphatic win over Page isn’t the only reason why either. Paul Daley, Lima, and online spectators were all in unison in their thoughts of MVP’s matchmaking. Virtually all of the welterweights on the Bellator roster have stated that the level of competition MVP faces is very low. In fact, some conspiracy theorists even believe that the promotion does this to produce big knockouts, thus producing huge ratings.
MVP Speaks on Lima Ducking Him
MVP spoke with MMA Junkie after his fight in Bellator Paris. During his interview, he explained how he believes that Douglas Lima is ducking him.
.@MichaelPage247 has a hunch @PhenomLima is trying to avoid a rematch with him. 👀#BellatorParis | Full interview: https://t.co/gJuNf1QA43 pic.twitter.com/XYTfg7R0TB
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 12, 2020
“It does feel like, more and more, every fight that I have now. He is more and more trying to undermind what I’m doing. And I think it’s simply because he and I both know him how close that fight was, sorry, how much success that I was getting in that fight up until that point,” said MVP.
“He even admitted it afterward after how fast I was, that he’d never come up against anybody with that kind of speed. He said all these amazing things and had a lot to say about me as an athlete directly after the fight,” Page said.
“And now that I want to get back in, I think he doesn’t want that, you know? I think he’s almost as worried about what could happen the second time around which is why near enough every fight I hear something that suggests he doest want to make this fight happen again. Which for me, means I live in his head.”
Stating a Case
Do fans believe that Lima is avoiding MVP? Or, were Lima’s past remarks fair in regards to Page facing credible competition before he gets a rematch? If Michael Venom Page wants to be taken seriously as a top contender, he might have to gain the respect of the fighters by facing elite competition. Then again, he can only fight who is put in front of him.
