Douglas Lima vs Michael Page: Page keeps falling into the same trap

Douglas Lima and Michael Page will face each other in a highly anticipated rematch at Bellator 267 on October, 1. The bout will be the highlight of the tournament in London.

By May 2019, Michael Page was the real star of the promotion and likely the most valuable asset of Scott Coker. He had 14 wins with no losses. But that's not what made him stand out. This lanky, fast, and flexible fighter shocked the public with his grimaces, incredibly frequent changes of stances, and outright boorish behavior towards his opponents.

But all this was forgiven, as he was winning, and doing it spectacularly.

And everything was good for him, the number of fans and haters was growing by leaps and bounds until he was unfortunate to face Douglas Lima in the Grand Prix semi-finals that May. He was the toughest opponent in his career and the way he fought against easier ones didn't work out here.

After that, Michael went back to his notorious fighting methods, continued his one-man show, racking up five wins in a row.

The 34-year-old British fighter's overall pro record includes 19 wins (12 by knockout, 3 by submission) and only one loss, the very one to Douglas Lima.

«It’s extremely special, this fight’s meant to take place in London. A lot of fans supported me even before our first fight, and were very invested in me winning that fight, and watching me lose it hurt them, so for them to have the ability to see the fight live, the energy will be amazing. The fight will take place at my home, and that's a huge plus. And every time you have a crowd roaring, going against you, applauding every success of your opponent, it's a lot of pressure. The support of the fans is going to give me the boost to win the fight.»

Michael Page

While Michael Page was having fun on the sack, the former Bellator champion was fighting some really tough guys, with varying degrees of success. He took away the welterweight belt in a five-round bout with Rory MacDonald, tried to repeat the trick in the middleweight with Gegard Mousasi, but failed, losing on points, and then parted with his title after losing to the Ukrainian Yaroslav Amosov by decision.

The 33-year old Brazilian fighter has 32 wins (14 by KO, 12 by submission) and 9 losses (1 by KO, 1 by submission) in his overall pro record.

«For me, the best way to win is to finish Paige. The knockout in the first fight went viral, and I'm about to do the same thing this time around, even better. I’ve got a lot to prove to myself and to the fans because my last two performances have not been good. I understand that and I know the fans are frustrated as well. So I’ve got to show them what I can do. I'll knock out Page in the first or second round.»

Douglas Lima

I don't know what guides bookmakers who offer very close odds. For example, Bet9ja offers the same odds of 1.87, both for Lima and Page.

And that's with Lima fighting top fighters on equal terms for years and Michael Page still acting a clown in the cage. Maybe it's just because Page has a lot of fans, and many people look forward to his fights. The encounter will also take place in London, so, of course, the arena is going to cheer for its man. Still, these are not the strongest arguments, so I’d say it’s safe to bet on Lima. He’s just better as a fighter.

Page keeps falling into the same trap.