Michael Venom Page promises to prove doubters wrong in Douglas Lima rematch

Bellator star Michael 'Venom' Page is planning to finally defeat old rival Douglas Lima in his home town next month, and prove his doubters wrong.

The pair squared off in 2019 as part of the 170 lb Grand Prix, with Lima winning both the fight and eventually the tournament.

And despite being brutally knocked out in that fight with the Brazilian, Londoner Page believes that he was winning the fight, and that he can prove it when they rematch.

Page, who is a renowned kickboxer and only lost once in his career so far, reckons that having made the necessary adjustments, and fighting five more times since that loss to Lima, he will begin his ascent towards a title on October 1 at Wembley.

"I felt completely in control," Page told Mirror Fighting . "Even on the ground he wasn't able to do anything.

"I made a mistake and he ended up in my guard and I completely controlled him, I was surprised we were even down there as long, I thought the referee was going to stand us up because he couldn't do anything.

"I felt great and I felt like I was in complete control if you look at the striking, I landed, it was all me and very one-sided, I rocked him as well and his legs went."

And Page believes it was the shot that hurt Lima which was ultimately his undoing, as he went for a finish that wasn't quite there yet and was ultimately caught.

The knock out went viral, with millions watching as Lima kicked Page's legs from under him and landed a beautiful uppercut to give him his sole career loss.

"That's where I feel my over-eagerness kind of kicked in," he explained. "I could literally see the finish line and I just wanted to cross it.

"I feel like it was all me and then the over-eagerness allowed for me to make some silly mistakes.

"This is the reason why I wanted to get back in there with him and prove to everybody, and myself what I know I could have done that first time."

Page immediately campaigned for a rematch with Lima after the fight, but as the Brazilian continued progressing through and eventually winning the tournament, he had to keep busy.

So he fought three times in four months in Dublin, London and Tokyo before the pandemic hit, which forced him to take just two fights since December 2019.

He won all five of those outings, while Lima is currently on a two-fight skid having lost his effort at double champ status against Gegard Mousasi before losing his belt to Yaroslav Amosov this summer.

"I knew exactly what I needed to do straight after the fight," Page continued.

"I didn't feel outclassed in one inch of that fight, and like I said it was my own flaws personally that allowed me to let that take place.

"I was super confident straight after our fight, and seeing him performing hasn't changed anything for me.

"I don't like to look at people's negatives, because I can't hope that he might perform like that on the night of our fight."

Tickets for Bellator London: Lima vs MVP 2 are on sale now and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk or bellator.com.

Watch Bellator London: Lima vs MVP 2 live on BBC iPlayer on Friday 1st October from 9pm.

Source: Read Full Article