Derek Anderson doesn’t appear to be short on confidence going into his bout against Michael Page.
Anderson will meet Page in a welterweight contest on May 19 inside the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, England. “The Barbaric” is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Derek Campos last month. A win over Page, would wipe away the memories of that defeat.
“Venom” is known for his flamboyant style inside the Bellator cage. In a press conference (via MMAJunkie.com), Anderson said that will serve as a detriment to Page:
“He drops his hands all the time. What do you mean holes? I definitely am kind of a pressure fighter, just instinctively, I like to go forward. And being the taller guy, usually, at lightweight, I can’t really do that, so it’s going to be nice being the shorter guy and put the pressure on him. And it will be a good fight. I’m going to give him his first test. He’s not going to pass.”
Anderson has been a lightweight throughout his career, but he was set to meet Paul Daley in a welterweight contest at Bellator 163. Daley is headlining Bellator 179 against Rory MacDonald. Anderson didn’t get to fight Daley after “Semtex” fell ill.
Now that he has another welterweight bout set, Anderson may not go back down to the 155-pound division. The Team Xplode MMA fighter explained the difficulties of trying to get back down to lightweight.
“They gave me the Michael Page fight and, after the last time trying to move up to 170 and come back down, it was just a little bit tough. And, going back up right now, I might not make it back down. I probably can, but I don’t want to hurt my body anymore.”
Bellator 179 will air on Spike, but there has been no word on if the broadcast will be live or aired via tape-delay.
