Michael 'Venom' Page is one win away from challenging the 'dangerous' Bellator champion Douglas Lima, and is confident he'll win
- Michael "Venom" Page returns to Bellator MMA competition this weekend for the first time since his first round knockout win over Richard Kiely in Dublin in September.
- The Kiely win was Page's first after losing for the first time against the Muay Thai expert Douglas Lima.
- After beating Page, Lima went on to win the Bellator Grand Prix, the Bellator welterweight championship, and a million dollars.
- All Page wants to do is get himself in a position where he can challenge Lima to a rematch - and should he win on Saturday, it is a fight Lima would accept.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
LONDON - Michael "Venom" Page is on the cusp of landing the biggest fight of his career.
Page has only ever lost once - a stunning second round knockout defeat to the Muay Thai expert Douglas Lima in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix earlier this year.
While Lima went on to win the Grand Prix, the Bellator welterweight title, and a $1 million paycheck last month, Page bounced back in Dublin with a highlight-reel knockout of his own, and is looking to make it two wins in a row on Saturday when he fights in front of his hometown fans at London's SSE Arena.
Should he win, it is likely he will get a second shot at Lima. The only difference is that this time it would be for the Bellator championship and the greatest stage Page has ever fought on.
"For me, get this fight over and I'm back at the top where I'm right on Lima's doorstep, knocking on his door again," Page told Business Insider.
All Page needs to do is keep his composure, not clown around, and win his upcoming bout against Giovanni Melillo.
The only problem is that clowning around is in Page's nature. It is part of his style to disguise accurate if unconventional strikes from awkward angles while frustrating opponents with showboating dance moves in the middle of a fight.
When he beat Richard Kiely in his comeback bout in Ireland two months ago, he stood over his beaten opponent, mocked him to his face, and then pretended to hobble around as if he were standing on drunken legs.
Page said he did this because of Kiely's pre-fight behavior. "I told him he shouldn't talk s---," he said.
The showboating style is what got Page into trouble against Lima. Page had great moments of success in that fight, almost bamboozling Lima from range, landing fast jabs and a variety of flashy kicks, but was out on his back and knocked out when Lima buckled his feet with a kick to the leg then followed up with a brutal uppercut to the face.
Lima told Business Insider the knockout felt good, but it was just another win for him, adding another name to a strong record which includes victories over Rory MacDonald, Andrey Koreshkov, and Lorenz Larkin.
It was a very important win against a guy who hasn't been defeated before, undefeated, and it was a good finish," Lima said. "It felt good … but was just another win."
Douglas Lima vs. Michael 'Venom' Page II could happen in 2020
All Page seemingly wants to do is get himself back into a position where he can right that wrong that now exists forever on his record.
"I'm looking forward to doing me, putting my game on, and getting another victory," Page told us. "After this one, I'm right back there.
"Douglas Lima is the man, so anywhere he wants to fight is where we would have it. I'm not one of those guys to try to fight anywhere specific. It doesn't really matter where it is, in my opinion. I just know what I'm capable of doing. He can ask for it anywhere."
He continued: "I'm feeling confident. I'm not taking away how dangerous he actually is, he's proven how dangerous he is. He's a great martial artist. I just know what was happening during that fight. I know my activity, I know I switched off.
"I'm looking forward to doing what I can in this next fight [to then get the fight against Lima]."
It's a fight Lima wants, too.
"I know he called me out," Lima told Business Insider. "He's got to get a couple more wins but maybe we can do this again in the future. I can't turn it down. If he's ready to do it, we'll do it."
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