Michael Page avenged his sole pro loss on Friday night, defeating former Bellator Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima via split decision after three rounds.
The fight headlined Bellator 267, which took place at the SSE Arena in London, England.
Page was aggressive to start the fight, coming forward with combinations that overwhelmed his opponent. Lima hit the canvas twice in the opening round, although it was hard to tell at times whether it came due to a knockdown or a slip.
Lima slowed the momentum of Page later in the first round with a takedown, scoring it halfway into the frame and keeping him down.
Lima became more comfortable in the second round, opening up with strikes and continuing to get takedowns as well. He nearly caught Page with the same finishing sequence as their first fight, chopping him down with a leg kick and then going for an uppercut to the head – but Page was able to avoid the punch.
The fight continued to be close on the feet in the third round, with Lima continuing to land takedowns as well.
Page set his sights on Bellator Welterweight Champion Yaroslav Amosov following his win.
“Now I want that bling,” said Page in his post-fight interview, referring to Amosov’s belt.
Amosov dethroned Lima just earlier this year, going five rounds against him to take the promotion’s 170-pound title.
Page, being the usual showman that he is, had a big entrance in front of his home crowd which saw him accompanied by famous rapper Skepta.
Page entered Friday on a five-fight winning streak that saw him put on dominant performances lower-level talent. His most recent fight before the weekend was against Derek Anderson, who he stopped in the first round due to a broken nose inflicted by a head kick.
McCourt Earns Fifth Bellator Win
Leah McCourt continued her successful Bellator run in the co-main event, going three rounds against Jessica Borga to earn a unanimous decision victory.
McCourt took Borga down in the first round, using the majority of those five minutes to notch control time. Borga was able to threaten McCourt with a kimura while on her back, although it didn’t come close to finishing the fight.
The fight mostly stayed on the feet for the remaining two rounds, allowing McCourt to out-land Borga and take a comfortable lead in the fight.
McCourt has now won five straight fights since joining the Bellator roster in 2019.
Borga is now on a two-fight losing streak. She took a loss in Bellator earlier this year as well, losing a decision to Talita Nogueira in April.
Eye Poke Ends Whiteford vs. Fisher Early
A featherweight contest between Robert Whiteford and Andrew Fisher had an unsatisfying end for fans on Friday, as it concluded in a no contest in the second round.
The eye poke incident came in the second round, as Whiteford took a finger to his right eye while Fisher backed up and had his hands raised out of instinct.
Whiteford and Fisher both entered the show with a fair amount of momentum, as their records had four consecutive wins heading into the weekend.
Trainer Continues Dominant Light Heavyweight Run
Light heavyweight prospect Luke Trainer added another strong showing to his undefeated record Friday, finishing Yannick Bahati in the second round of action.
Trainer had an aggressive stand-up performance, coming forward throughout and pressuring Bahati with strikes.
The onslaught of strikes from Trainer eventually made Bahati crumble in the second round, as the defeated light heavyweight exited a clinch position and fell to the ground.
Trainer’s undefeated five-fight record now includes three wins in Bellator. His previous appearance was in September 2020, where he stopped Alex O’Toole in just over a minute.
Bahati has now lost five of his last six, including a previous win and a loss in Bellator.
Wilde Gets Nod Over Landu In Return
Tim Wilde had a successful return to the cage in the first bout of the main card, fighting three rounds to win on scorecards against Yves Landu.
Wilde has now won two consecutive bouts in Bellator. His prior appearance, a fight in 2019, saw him defeat Charlie Leary on scorecards.
Landu was coming back to Bellator after scoring a flashy, flying knee knockout in his prior appearance.
The Rest of the Card
Lewis Long made quick work of Michael Dubois in the featured prelim, stopping him in just 41 seconds. After backing up the welterweight with a two-punch combo early on, Long closed the distance, took the back of Dubois and secured a rear naked choke for the win.
French veteran Davy Gallon picked up his first Bellator win, going three rounds against Kane Mousah for a scorecard victory.
Elina Kallionidou snapped a two-fight losing streak on the prelims, catching Petra Castkova early with a heel hook submission for the win. The victory was Kallionidiou’s first in Bellator through five appearances.
Jack Grant used sharp striking to put away welterweight veteran Nathan Jones within a round, hurting him with punches on the feet then finishing the bout with ground and pound.
Undefeated prospect Fabacary Diatta picked up his second Bellator win, defeating Nathan Rose via unanimous decision.
Chiara Penco used her grappling skills to earn a quick victory, submitting Katharina Dalisda in the first round with an armbar.
Khurshed Kakhorov had a successful Bellator debut in the first bout of the evening, fighting to a unanimous decision win over Jair Junior to preserve his flawless record.
Quick Results
Main Card (4:00PM EDT / 9:00PM BST) (Showtime)
Bout 12: Michael Page def. Douglas Lima via Decision, Split
Bout 11: Leah McCourt def. Jessica Borga via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Robert Whiteford vs. Andrew Fisher via No Contest, Unintentional Eye Poke (RD 2, 2:50)
Bout 9: Luke Trainer def. Yannick Bahati via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:50)
Bout 8: Tim Wilde def. Yves Landu via Decision, Unanimous
Preliminary Card (1:00PM EDT / 6:00PM BST) (Youtube)
Bout 7: Lewis Long def. Michael Dubois via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 1, 0:41)
Bout 6: Davy Gallon def. Kane Mousah via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 5: Elina Kallionidou def. Petra Castkova via Submission, Heel Hook
Bout 4: Jack Grant def. Nathan Jones via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:16)
Bout 3: Fabacary Diatta def. Nathan Rose via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Chiara Penco def. Katharina Dalisda via Submission, Armbar (RD 1, 2:45)
Bout 1: Khurshed Kakhorov def. Jair Junior via Decision, Unanimous
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