Neiman Gracie was supposed to fight Michael “Venom” Page this month. He’s not quite sure why he isn’t.
“I don’t know. I could come here and talk a lot of sh*t about him, saying that he’s scared and he doesn’t want to take the fight,” Gracie said during the Bellator 255 virtual media day this week. “But I think it’s about the craziness going down in the U.K. with COVID. They told me it’s kind of hard for him to train, and he couldn’t get ready in time.”
At Bellator 255, Gracie will instead fight Jason Jackson, who is coming off a win over former UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson. “Great performance against an ex-champ. I think it was a great fight, he fought very well. He did the perfect fight against Benson.”
Interestingly enough, Jackson is ranked below Gracie in the recently released Bellator MMA official rankings, voted on by members of the media. Page is ranked ahead of him, while Gracie himself sits in the #3 slot.
“I think it’s bullsh*t. I think either me or Amosov should be at the top,” said Gracie. It’s MVP who sits with the #1 ranking in the division, under champ Douglas Lima. “Michael Page should be under us. Because we’ve been fighting tougher competition, so I think we should be ranked higher than him. I think Jason Jackson should be ranked higher.”
That having been said, Gracie isn’t overly concerned. “It’s okay. Rankings in MMA, it’s a joke. They don’t get you title fights. They’re just there for show.”
Watch the full Bellator 255 virtual media day scrum with Neiman Gracie above. Bellator 255 takes place Friday, April 2 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The card airs live on Showtime, and will be available in its entirety right here on Cageside Press.
