Michael Page is convinced that Douglas Lima wants no part of a rematch against him.
Michael “Venom” Page (MVP) believes his bout tomorrow night at Bellator 258 against Derek Anderson will finally solidify the rematch against welterweight champion Douglas Lima that he has been shooting for. This is the only loss on Page’s record to date, and he has since won four consecutive bouts. The only problem, according to Lima, is that he is not impressed with the competition he has won against. Page believes this is all a pretext for the true reality of the situation: Lima is an unconfident champion who is ducking him.
“I genuinely don’t believe he wants to fight me,” Page told MMA Junkie about Lima. “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.”
In their 2019 encounter, Michael Page won the first round on most people’s scorecard, but in the second round, Lima was able to knock Page out as he haphazardly returned to his feet. It was a perfectly timed and executed knockout to capitalize on MVP’s carelessness.
Two years later, Lima is still the champion, and he continues to express disinterest in fighting Page again until he earns the shot to his satisfaction. Page fails to understand why Lima is so concerned about what he is doing with his career instead of being willing to fight whoever is placed in front of him.
“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.”
Douglas Lima happened upon Page’s remarks, and issued the following response on social media:
“’Unchampion like’ was just funny. I’m going after champions and bigger fights. If you want this fight so bad ask for a fight that’ll get you there. No disrespect but you’re not doing that. You think I’ll back out of a fight I finished in 2 rounds? Good luck”
It has never been confirmed that Lima has been officially offered a rematch against Page.
Do you agree with Michael Page? Does Douglas Lima not want to fight him again?
