Issue 186

December 2019

After suffering the first defeat of his professional MMA career earlier this year, Michael “Venom” Page is back on track, looking for a rematch and looking for revenge.

One of Bellator’s hottest properties, Michael Page has never failed to excite and the past 12 months have arguably been the most eventful of all for the natural-born entertainer.

2019 started so well for Page when he was finally able to get his hands on his most fierce rival Paul Daley at Bellator 216. A fight that had been years in the making failed to live up to the explosive build-up, but Page managed to put one over his fellow Englishman taking home a unanimous decision victory and proceeding to the semi-finals of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix.

Less than three months later, Page found himself back in the Bellator cage and this time facing a former champion in Douglas Lima in Rosemont, Illinois. It was a night that ultimately ended on a sour note for the London Shootfighters man after he was knocked out after 35 seconds of the second round following a clipping right hook to the jaw. Having spent over seven years undefeated and with a flamboyant unorthodox fighting style, there was no shortage of people happy to see Page defeated, unconscious, and subsequently exiting stage left from the Welterweight Grand Prix.

Despite the high-profile loss Page wasted little time throwing himself back into the spotlight and this time, he was solely focused on silencing a man who had leveled no end of abuse at him. Richard Kiely, the self-proclaimed “Face of Bellator” had been calling for a fight with Page for over a year and on September 27 the SBG Ireland man had his wish granted.

For Page, fighting Kiely was a step down in competition and this was a fact that the Londoner refused to hide. Facing Kiely in his own backyard was an opportunity for Page to show another side of his character though and unfortunately for the Irishman, it was a vicious, ruthless one. Page walked into a raucous, packed-out 3 Arena in Dublin and dismantled Kiely in front of his friends and family. Such was Page’s confidence during the fight at one stage the Londoner took Kiely down to the mat and mockingly pretended to take selfies in between raining down ground and pound on the hapless Irishman. Page was subsequently deducted a point for playing with his prey by referee Dan Miragliotta, but just a matter of moments after the warning the Englishman connected with a flying knee to the jaw and the fight was over.

Page admitted after that he took nothing from victory in a fight that even before he labeled lose-lose. Speaking exclusively to Fighters Only, however, Page explained how fighting in front of the fans in Ireland was an experience like no other.

“I was so happy to be able to fight in front of a crowd like that,” Page said. “When I was actually in Dublin and in front of that crowd I realized it was definitely the best crowd I’ve fought in front of. Their energy was something else and it wasn’t just about my fight; I think it’s just how they were throughout the whole night and that’s not something you see at many fight nights. The Irish people just support their own and you don’t need any other credentials to get a cheer. As long as you’re Irish, they cheer for you. I think they really appreciate combat. Even if one of their own fighters loses to something that’s been done really well or that they appreciate that as well.”

Kiely had no shortage of insults for Page before the fight but when the two stepped in the cage there was only ever going to be one winner. The Irishman’s barrage of abuse, memes and taunting via social media gave Page food for thought, but it appears it only served to focus the Londoner more and give him extra motivation to show him up on the night. 

“That was a bank robbery and nothing more than that,” Page said laughing. “It was a two-minute job. In and out. That’s it and that’s literally what it felt like. He had absolutely nothing to offer. It’s funny because after a while of all his talking and talking, I thought he must have something up his sleeve. The fight only really ever existed because of his mouth, but because he talked so vehemently about winning I really started paying closer attention to make sure I wasn’t just missing something.

“The second I was in front of him though I knew,” he continued. “I just knew then that this was going to be exactly what I thought this was going to be. It was just a bank robbery. I got a nice payday, I got to fight in front of an incredible crowd, and I ticked another fight off the contract. It was great just getting back to winning ways. There were a lot more positives than there were negatives that’s for sure.”

Reflecting on the fight now, Page compared the rivalry to his feud with Daley and explained how it differed. The animosity between Daley and Page grew for years before culminating in February whilst Kiely out of nowhere talked himself into a fight with Page on home soil. The relationship between Page and Daley will never be friendly, but the two Englishmen share a mutual respect that was sorely lacking from the Irishman.

“With Daley, we genuinely didn’t like each other, but there was always underlying respect because of what we’ve both achieved in the sport,” Page said. “As much as he was being disrespectful, he couldn’t lie to himself and he had to change his fighting style during the fight and he couldn’t deny that.

“Richard is just a person that was shouting to the stars hoping that one would fall his way, and one did fall his way, but it knocked him out,” he continued. “People like Richard will never make it. He convinced himself that he could beat me and thought that my fans would become his fans. No, it doesn’t work like that. You still have to prove yourself. People follow you not because of your wins and losses, but more if you’re an entertaining fighter and can back up what you do. He can’t back it up and he had zero respect. It’s as simple as that.”

Sat cageside for the showdown between Page and Kiely was the champ-champ himself, Conor McGregor. Chaos has often followed when McGregor has attended Bellator events in the past, but this time around he was on his best behavior as he took in the action a mere matter of feet away from the cage. Despite Page taking on one of McGregor’s Straight Blast Gym teammates, the Irishman visibly enjoyed the Londoner’s performance and afterward took time to speak to him and his Shootfighters teammate.

“I spoke to him and what people saw was exactly what happened,” Page said. “He said he enjoyed being able to watch me live and that he loved the entrance and the fight. He just congratulated me and young Norbert [Novenyi Jr.]. He also spoke to all my coaches as well and it was all very friendly and polite. 

“We run in the same circles in terms of Paradigm [management company], but we’d never come across each other before,” he continued. “We’ve shared messages before, but never been able to watch each other live fighting MMA. It was just pure respect and again I think it was just down to the Irish mentality when it comes to fighting. He just saw something he could appreciate. He’s a performer himself and he’s a great martial artist so he gave him that respect.”

The victory that evening was satisfying for more reasons than just shutting Kiely’s mouth. For Page it was an opportunity to get back to winning ways but not for one second did he dwell on his loss to Lima earlier in the year. Page says his experience on the freestyle kickboxing circuit prior to his MMA career taught him that losing was just part of the journey and that any man can be beaten on any given day. 

“Never in my life have I ever seen myself as invincible,” Page said. “I just see myself as an amazing and great fighter who can beat anyone in the world. That’s a very different mentality to believing you’re invincible and I do believe that I can beat anyone put in front of me. That might mean it will be the second, third, or fourth time I fight the person, but I will figure out any fighter in the world and that’s very different.

“I think when people get quick rises they get the feeling of invincibility,” he continued. “People forget that I’ve been in the combat game for a long time and I used to get my arse kicked over and over again, week in, week out. I would go up and down the country fighting and coming back with nothing but a sore body. That’s what has made me so confident now. I think people who have joined MMA late or people who have had a quick rise and not experienced that don’t have what I have. Losing is not a problem for me. I don’t believe in the Lima fight I was outmatched. I made a mistake he took advantage of it. I’m going to get him back.”

Defeat to Lima appears to have brought out a new side in Page’s character that MMA fans have yet to see before. Losing to the Brazilian in May has put a chip on his shoulder and it doesn’t look like one that will go away without him exacting his revenge. This attitude is one that appears to have been within Page before and he recalled a story from his time on the kickboxing circuit where he wouldn’t let a rivalry pass despite winning the first fight.

“I’m a person that holds grudges,” Page said. “I remember there was a guy who used to be very big in the world of freestyle kickboxing at a time when I was quite young and up and coming. I fought him and I managed to just beat him, but he was very disrespectful after and said some very rude things. I literally remember going home and cutting a picture of him out of a martial arts magazine and sticking that on the wall and promising myself that the day I meet him again I would f** * him up. It must’ve been like seven or eight years that I fought him again and that time I really messed him up. I didn’t just beat him up though; I made him apologize to me. That’s me and that’s my mentality. Win or lose I demand respect.”

With revenge on his mind, Page has his sights set on one man and one thing only. A few wins could arguably put Page in line for a shot at the Bellator welterweight title, but if Lima isn’t the man holding that belt, Page has no interest in pursuing the gold. For the minute at least, Page wants to prove to the world that he’s the better man and that until he gets the win back, he’s focused on only that.

“I want Lima, nothing else,” Page explained with complete focus. “The belt doesn’t faze me and I’ve always said this. Just looking at the way the sport is going, it’s not like these belts really mean anything anymore. Look at that ‘BMF belt’ thing they’re doing in the UFC and all the interim belts. It’s hard to know who is even a champion anymore. It’s just a popularity contest more than anything nowadays. That’s why the ranking systems don’t mean anything anymore. 

“Look at any of the interviews we’ve done from the beginning,” he continued. “I’ve never told you that I’m here chasing a belt. I don’t care. Obviously, I believe I will end up with a belt because inevitably I’m going to beat enough people up.

“I just focus on me and my personal growth as a martial artist,” he continued. “Anybody that I don’t like I want to beat up and anyone that has beaten me before, I also want to beat them up to get them back. It’s way more about Lima than it is anything else.”

Focusing on being a martial artist is increasingly becoming difficult in a world where trash-talking seems to be how fighters believe they can make themselves stand out. Page thinks the ‘Bad Motherf***er Belt’ up for grabs at UFC 244 is a perfect example of the way the sports seems to be heading and that it’s not a good look for those who still want to uphold the martial arts code in MMA.

“It just sounds like a really stupid idea,” Page said regarding the ‘BMF belt.’ “I think it just devalues actual titles. I know they aren’t going to do this over and over again, but I think we really are starting to cross into WWE territory with this kinda stuff. It’s like they’re trying to make a storyline and stuff. The thing is there are actual people out there who are real bad motherf***ers. We aren’t bad motherf***ers. We’re martial artists. Stop trying to mix the two. I think we should conduct ourselves a certain way.

“Why are these guys bad motherf***ers? What actually makes them different to any other fighter,” he continued. “They aren’t going in there with a gun, a baseball bat, or a knife. They aren’t bad motherf***ers, they’re just good martial artists. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Page, however, has never been one to shy away from putting on a show and has gone viral on more than one occasion through his antics in the cage. He believes there’s a difference between fighters promoting themselves and promotions pushing storylines though and that the individuals should be given space to express themselves the way they want to. 

“I get why this movement is happening,” Page explained. In this age, it’s more about numbers and that’s why first and foremost this sport is becoming about popularity. I do like people letting their character show and I do understand the importance of everyone showing their personality. When I first stepped in the MMA world I thought about what I could do to maximize my time in the cage. This is why I try to be creative with entrances, my strikes, and after the fight as well.

“I think when the show starts trying to push things on the audience, like the ‘BMF belt,’ I think that’s when it’s too much. I don’t think it’s right for the promotions to create storylines around fights like it’s pro wrestling. Let the individuals have space and the spotlight to do it themselves.”

With a record of 15-1 with 12 finishes, Page has quickly become the figurehead of the London Shootfighters gym. Having trained there since 2011, Page believes that his coaches and teammates have been a vital part in this success and that their attention to detail and intensity in the gym have been integral to him making it to where he is today. Founders Alexis Demetriades and Paul Ivens aren’t the biggest names in the sport, but according to Page, they have some of the best minds in the game.

“I know every gym says this, but London Shoot is very different to the rest,” Page said. “Our coaches are the best in the world purely because they dedicate their whole lives to coaching and nothing else. They hate being on camera. They hate promoting themselves. It’s funny because I actually think they’re amazing characters and that they would be amazing on screen. The stuff that they’ve done and the amount of time they’ve been in the sport, and the knowledge that they have, it would be amazing to capture on camera, but they have no interest in that. They dedicate everything they have. They are in there [the gym] first and they are always the last to leave.

“It’s all for us and they travel non-stop,” he continued. “Other coaches do book tours, photoshoots and are focussed on getting sponsorship, but here’s it not really about that. I think other coaches focus on other things too much other than fighting. I understand they want to make money, but maybe save that for after you’ve retired.”

 With the likes of Mike Shipman, Alfie Davis, and Norbert Növényi Jr. all coming through the ranks in Bellator, Page thinks it won’t be long before London Shoot is recognized as one of the premier gyms in the world. The sparring at London Shoot is often said to be fierce and at times brutal, but the attitude at Shootfighters is very much ‘train hard, fight easy.’

“There are no egos in our gym,” Page said. “Everyone is a family. We beat each other up every single day, but then we will chill and hug it out afterward. It reminds me of when I was training with my brothers. On the same day I would be beating them up in training, we would be going back to the house together so we had to learn just to make up straight afterward.

“I’ve been to a few different gyms before and you see pockets of people with egos. It can become very cliquey in the gym but you don’t see that at Shootfighters. We’re known for sparring hard and a lot of people don’t like that, but I think that’s why we are so strong. We drown so much in the gym that it feels a lot easier when we actually get to the cage. “

Page will be hoping to keep that intensity from the gym and bring it into his next fight with Derek Anderson who he faces at Bellator London at the end of November. The Londoner will have to wait patiently until Lima has fought Rory MacDonald in the final of the Welterweight Grand Prix before having any opportunity to get a rematch, but not for a second did he think about sitting on the sidelines until that time.

If he’s ready to go, Page wants to fight and keep racking up the wins until another showdown with Lima is undeniable.

“At the beginning of the year you want to get in as many fights as possible but it does get to a point where you do want to relax and your body does need that rest,” Page said. “Right now though I feel great and I feel healthy. Whilst I’m fit, healthy and strong I might as well fight and keep going. I’m just going to keep taking them out. 

“I’m going to show everyone that I’m the best fighter in the world,” he concluded. “And that nothing is going to stop me getting that rematch with Lima. His time is coming.”