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When Michael “Venom” Page started to see posters and billboards around London promoting his upcoming rematch against Douglas Lima, he was happy to see that Bellator MMA was finally giving him back his due.
In the past, the welterweight contender from the UK has complained that Bellator hasn’t pushed him enough despite his obvious star power, not to mention the lack of activity despite having only fought two times in the past two years.
Since raising concerns about the promotion owned by ViacomCBS, Page has said that his relationship with Bellator MMA has improved a lot, although part of him still wonders why it took a public campaign to for something to happen.
“There was a lot going on in the background and things that I wasn’t happy with,” Page explained on MMA time. “Had these conversations, [and] things are 10 times better. You can see that they are working a lot. Even with the promotion of this fight, I had mixed feelings about it. Seeing my face and me and Lima’s fight scarred around London was amazing. Obviously I have friends and family who send me messages and so on. It was great. That was the positive side.
“The negative side was kind of like it should have happened so long ago. How many times have I been here, how many times have I put on such an amazing show? I am a sure bet for putting money in wholesale. So that’s the negative side, but it’s great to see what happens. The push they’re putting behind me, and I think a lot more people have confidence in my abilities and what I can do.
While Page has been on the Bellator roster for eight years, he’s never shied away from discussing his future and the possibility of one day competing for the UFC. That sort of talk might not be right for his current promoter, but the 34-year-old forward isn’t talking about the UFC just to ruffle feathers or spark controversy.
Instead, Page insists he’s just telling the truth when he talks about the UFC in the hopes that Bellator will eventually match them in promotion and notoriety.
“I know they don’t like it, but the point is [the UFC] are the biggest brand, if we just think of it as a business, ”Page said. “In terms of promotion and they’ve got the Embedded show, they’ve got that, they’ve got the backstage, all of that stuff makes for better branding and that’s the kind of stuff they lack here.
“Again, I’m a huge fan of Bellator and have been for a long time, because I love the way they do the walkouts. You can really get individual characters, which I love. I’m a great character. . I don’t want to be one of many. I want to stand out. So I like that side, the formula that they created on that side. But they have to do a little more, and it looks like they’re heading in that direction.
As he nears his rematch against Lima on Friday, Page said he was not sure how many fights he has left on his current contract with Bellator, but that he is not necessarily looking to go elsewhere.
There’s still a lot that Page loves about Bellator, especially when it comes to being an individual personality and a star compared to how the UFC produces shows, including the uniform. standard that the fighters carry to the cage.
“I’m allowed to really show my personality and be myself,” Page said of Bellator. “Obviously I didn’t go there [at the UFC] viz, but it doesn’t seem like you can show off that much. You kind of have to align yourself with a lot of things. But at the same time, I make noise everywhere I go.
More than anything, Page just hopes that bringing up the UFC will only push Bellator even harder, as the competition is ultimately supposed to produce better results.
“I am really happy for [Bellator]”said Page.” Again, they’re not always happy to hear about competition, but the only thing you should focus on then is to be better than that competition. “
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