Michael 'Venom' Page just brutally knocked out another overmatched opponent before challenging Douglas Lima to a high-stakes rematch
- Michael "Venom" Page just brutally knocked out another opponent.
- The English fighter outclassed Giovanni Melillo with ease at the SSE Arena in London on Saturday, November 23.
- He now wants to rematch Douglas Lima in a Bellator title fight.
- You can watch his highlight-reel knockout win over Melillo below.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
SSE ARENA, LONDON - Michael "Venom" Page just iced another overmatched opponent in the opening round of his Bellator 235 fight at the SSE Arena in London.
With his ballerino-like stance, low guard, and unconventional strikes, Page opened numerous opportunities against Giovanni Melillo, who was just waiting to be hit.
Perhaps inspired by the crowd chanting "f--- him up, f--- him up, f--- him up," Page closed the distance and launched a powerful, leg-buckling and body-stiffening overhand right, knocking Melillo to the floor in an instant.
Sensing immediately that it was game over, Page celebrated. It was another quick-fire knockout win in the bank.
Watch the knockout right here:
Melillo was never expected to prove tough opposition for Page, as the 13-4 fighter, a Bellator debutant, was brought in as a late replacement after the original opponent, the 16-3 welterweight Derek Anderson, withdrew because of a groin injury earlier this month.
But all "Venom" could do after suffering the sole blemish of his career two fights ago was continue to tally wins, highlight-reel knockouts, and capitalize on his microphone time as he campaigns for the one thing that currently drives him - a high-profile rematch against Douglas Lima.
The Brazilian Muay Thai expert remains the only fighter to beat Page after hammering him with a brutal second round knockout at Bellator 221 in Illinois, May.
Page has repeatedly challenged Lima to a second showdown which would now be on an even greater stage as Lima has gone on to win the Bellator welterweight championship, the Bellator Grand Prix, and a $1 million paycheck.
It is a ruckus Lima himself entertains, telling Business Insider recently that if Page keeps winning, they can throw down once more. Well, Page now has two wins since losing to Lima. And he's still campaigning for that do-over.
Even before he mauled Melillo, Page told Business Insider that, yeah, Lima is "dangerous" but he is confident he can reverse that May loss, beat Lima, equalizing the scoreline.
And, after his win on Saturday, November 23, Page said: "London, I love you guys. In the crowd, I see family, friends, my supporters. I'm the one and only MVP - it doesn't matter who steps in the cage. Boom!"
He added, to cheers: "Who wants to see me fight Douglas Lima again? He's got the belt, I got a lot of respect for him, but I want to take something back that he stole from me."
In the co-main event earlier in the night, Fabian Edwards edged past Mike Shipman with a split decision that enraged a small group of observers so much they bundled over media members in press row and stopped short of invading the cage when they were confronted by bemused security.
The rivalry between Shipman and Edwards had been built as one of the most compelling in Bellator's European Series this year.
The two middleweights faced-off in front of the press for the first time at a hotel near Dublin airport two months ago, a media event which Business Insider attended, and the tension proved palpable.
Finally within spitting distance of each other in September, fists looked like they could fly at a moment's notice. The bad blood even threatened to spill over at the pre-fight weigh-in on Friday, but the athletes were quickly separated before they could do any real, lasting, damage.
Yes, three rounds of unarmed combat on a blood-stained canvas within a Bellator-branded cage was always the only way this rivalry could be settled - but the bout itself took a while to get started, if it ever really did.
What promised to be a Bellator masterpiece was little more than a damp squib with wild scoring - 29-28, 28-29, 30-27 to Edwards. A rematch may be needed, providing people would actually want to watch it.
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