Michael Page questions Douglas Lima's 'un-champion-like' actions ahead of Bellator 258
Michael Page is calling foul on Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima before Bellator 258.
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UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Michael Page is calling foul on Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima.
Page (18-1 MMA, 14-1 BMMA) has been calling for a rematch with Lima (32-8 MMA, 14-4 BMMA) since he was brutally knocked out in their first meeting in May 2019. It’s a fight he strongly thinks he was winning before getting caught with a perfect crippling blow, and he wants a chance to make it right.
“MVP” has put together four consecutive wins since his loss to Lima, and he’ll look to make it five when he takes on Derek Anderson (17-3 MMA, 8-3 BMMA) on Friday at Bellator 258. The 175-pound catchweight fight takes places at Mohegan Sun Arena and airs on Showtime.
Page isn’t entirely sure beating Anderson will get him what he wants, though. From his perspective, Lima, who is scheduled to put his welterweight belt on the line against Yaroslav Amosov at Bellator 260 on June 11, isn’t willing to run it back.
“I genuinely don’t believe he wants to fight me,” Page told MMA Junkie. “I feel like he’s going to prolong – let’s say he wins this fight and I win my fight, I think he’s going to prolong that space in between, and hopefully I get active again. … I’ve kind of lost interest to a degree, but I know I’ll eventually be in the cage again soon. So, for me, it’s just stay active, keep winning, keep beating everybody, and we’ll collide soon.”
Although Page and Lima have had a relatively cordial relationship both prior to and after their first clash, it appears a touch of bad blood is starting to form, at least on the Brit’s end.
Page thinks it’s quite evident he’s the most difficult stylistic matchup for Lima at welterweight, and he thinks it’s unbecoming of a champion to avoid the toughest fight.
“There’s a lot of things un-champion-like,” Page said. “It’s weird to be at the top of the hill, then pay so much attention to somebody else that’s coming up. It feels like I’ve unnerved him a little, but that could just be me looking at it from my perspective, could be complete bull. But for me, I’m just focused on myself. Staying active, winning fights and eventually we will meet.”
It may seem that Limas is at the crux of his focus, but Page insists that’s not the case. That honor goes to Anderson, who will be the man standing across from him in the cage this weekend.
The matchup has been scheduled twice before, so both men should have a good read on each other. Page’s unique fighting style makes him a hard one to gauge, though, and he said living up to that reputation is what will win him the fight.
“For like most of my opponents, it’s just me being me,” Page said. “I’m the most awkward person in there. I tend to be the tallest. I tend to have the most reach. I tend to be the fastest. So I just need to use all my attributes to my advantage and go in and just be me, and that’s usually a lot of trouble for my opponents.”