Douglas Lima and Michael Page faced off for the second time in the main event of Friday’s Bellator 267, at the SSE Arena in London, England.
The rematch found the welterweight pair on different trajectories: Lima was looking to snap a two-fight skid that included the loss of his title last time out, while “MVP” had won five straight.
The energy in London was electric to say the least, and exploded when Douglas Lima briefly went down early in the fight — more of a push than a knockdown with punch hitting the chest. Page was practically floating around the cage, circling, bouncing, and in a heartbeat he did sit Lima down again, though the Brazilian popped right back up. A spinning heel kick from Page was partially blocked, and Lima had seen enough. He changed levels moments later and put “MVP” on his back, with half the round to go. Page got his back to the fence, and controlled the wrists of Lima. Soon enough, the ex-champ pulled free, dropping a bit of ground n’ pound.
Round two saw Page working his jab, and after having his left chopped out from under him, he just barely avoided an uppercut that would have been lights out. Page kept at a distance, switched stances, and ate a heavy kick to the body. Lima would go down again later in the round, but it was again more of him falling, off-balance, not a knockdown.
The third frame saw MVP again narrowly miss a fight-ending blow on his way up after a kick. The English fighter was spending a lot of time with his back to the cage, Lima walking him down. With two minutes remaining in the third fight, Lima landed the takedown. Page tied things up, but couldn’t get a stand-up from the ref. Lima got a hand free, throwing a punch or two before Page grabbed his wrists.
The biggest lesson from the night was the obvious need for Bellator to adopt five-round main events, both men had plenty left in the tank in a close fight. Michael Page came away with a very close split decision to get his revenge on Lima — and serve up the ex-champ’s third straight loss.
Official Result: Michael Page def. Douglas Lima by split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
