Former Cage Warriors welterweight champ Ross Houston is being thrust into the spotlight this weekend atop Bellator 248. Houston (8-0, 1NC) signed with Bellator earlier this year, frankly because he felt that “the Bellator welterweight division in particular has some of the best welterweights on the planet.”
He’s getting one of those right out of the gate in Michael “Venom” Page. For some, Houston is the next “can” being lined up for MVP. That doesn’t reflect reality, although Houston did acknowledge during a Bellator 248 media day this week that his opponent’s level of competition has at times been lacking.
“I’d be stupid to say he hasn’t got the skills,” Houston stated, noting Page’s kickboxing background, which saw him become a multi-time champion. “But I don’t think he’s fought anyone quite as well-rounded as me, other than, obviously, Douglas Lima. Lima and the Paul Daley fight are the ones that stand out.”
“I know what a win against him will do for my career,” added Houston, stating that it’s strictly business between himself and Page. “Obviously scalping MVP is going to put me right up there, and I’ll be asking for the title shot.”
Houston is no stranger to big fights, having held gold in Cage Warriors. But taking part in the first ever official MMA event in France is something else, he told Cageside Press.
“It’s crazy. Here’s the thing, I asked to fight Michael, and I wasn’t entirely confident that I’d get it. So getting offered him in the first place was massive,” revealed Houston. “And I didn’t know anything about French MMA history. When I was told that, it was crazy.”
The European nation has long been one of the last holdouts when it comes to legalizing MMA. An obstacle to the sport’s growth that was finally overcome earlier this year.
Like many fighters, Houston got his start in the sport as a young man, looking to stay out of trouble. “I never looked too far in the future,” admitted Houston. “I woke up this morning, I opened the curtains, they put me on the top floor of a fancy hotel in Paris. It’s just looking out at Paris, I’m like — just fighting is what I love to do, and fighting’s got me to this position. It’s just weird to be honest. It’s not really fully sunk in.”
He expects it will, sooner or later. “Once I’m done fighting, it’s going to be a lifelong memory.”
Watch the full Bellator 248 media day scrum with Ross Houston above. The event goes down live this Saturday, October 10.
