Bellator star Michael 'Venom' Page says there's nothing in life that compares to a KO in the cage
- There's nothing in life that compares to the thrill of scoring a violent knockout.
- That's according to flashy MMA fighter Michael "Venom" Page.
- Page competes at Bellator 267 in London on Friday, and is vowing to score a first-round finish.
LONDON - Michael "Venom" Page is one of the great showmen in combat sports and told Insider that despite trying other things in a life away from the cage, there's nothing that compares to the thrill of landing a violent knockout shot.
The flashy, supersonic-limbed kickboxer returns to the mixed martial arts battleground Friday in London's SSE Arena for a high-stakes rematch against three-time Bellator MMA champion Douglas Lima - a Muay Thai expert.
Aside from a 2019 loss to Lima, Page has a variety of highlight-reel finishes.
He has legitimate one-punch knockout power and has iced an opponent at will with his right hand before pretending to brush the dirt off his knuckles.
Page possesses an array of strikes that can bewilder a foe ready to fall with a straight right or a nose-breaking kick to the face.
Against Cyborg Santos in 2016, Page landed a jump knee so powerful it broke the Brazilian's skull. Santos has not fought since then.
Page capitalizes on youth and pop culture trends of the time, and has integrated Pokemon Go, Fortnite Dances, and Thanos' fist from Marvel's "Infinity War" into his celebration repertoire, as a way to become internet famous himself.
It is perhaps no surprise that he is yet to find anything that compares to this kind of stage. "I can't say I've found anything, and I am a thrill-seeker," Page told Insider earlier this week.
"I've done sky-diving, bungee-jumping, skiing, rollercoasters, and so on. I get amazing rushes from different stuff, but it's never the same as the feeling in the moment.
"It's why people retire but come back, so they can experience that feeling again. It's hard to find it in a normal life."
He said that he's always striving to entertain fight fans, and to provide value for the money that people spend on tickets to watch live, or on subscription fees to watch at home.
Though Lima finished Page spectacularly in the second round of a fight in Illinois two years ago, the Brit is confident he can right that wrong as he's improved considerably, he says, as opposed to Lima who has stayed stagnant.
Page said there were strikes he threw in the first round that troubled Lima, and it's a case of throwing the right shots at the right time in the rematch, so that he can put him down and out for good.
"I'm going to be 10 times more effective this time, and hopefully this wins the fight," he said. "It's a case of being a better, sharper, stronger version of myself."
Page continued: "It's about being more precise myself, and more careful in terms of positioning to defend his world class low kick, which has weight to it.
"It's definitely not going to the scorecards," he said. "It'll be a first-round. Then, after this fight, it'll catapult me again.
"I'm genuinely excited about the next couple of years. It all starts now, about keeping that momentum going. Keeping my name on the tip of everybody's tongue. This is a key moment in my career. It's going to silence a lot of people."
Knowing Page, should he score that first-round knockout win he craves, he'll have a celebration pre-prepared that taps into the spirit of the age.
Bellator 267 takes place Friday and will be broadcast on BBC iPlayer in the UK, and Showtime in the US.