Lima, Page see semifinal turning into stand-up battle
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Bellator might have the biggest fight in its history in Saturday’s main event, but the opening act is no slouch.
Before Michael Chandler defends his lightweight title against featherweight champion Patricio Freire, who will attempt to become the promotion’s latest two-division titleholder, former welterweight champ Douglas Lima (30-7 MMA, 12-3 BMMA) meets Michael Page (14-0, 10-0) in the welterweight grand prix tournament semifinals.
The fights top Bellator 221 at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois, near Chicago. The main card streams on DAZN.
A win over Page, an unbeaten and flashy British star, would put Lima in the tournament final, where he’d await the winner of current champion Rory MacDonald and Neiman Gracie, who fight next month in New York. MacDonald beat Lima to win the belt in 2018, but Lima just wants the belt back.
“Getting the title (is most important) for sure,” Lima told USA TODAY. “Of course, there’s always that little feeling that I want to get that win back (from MacDonald); I want to get that fight. But the most important thing is the title. If Neiman beats him, I’ll beat the guy who beat (MacDonald). That’s even better.”
To get there, Lima has to get past Page, who finds himself an underdog for the first time. Lima is a 2-1 favorite, which he said is how it should be.
And while Page isn’t thrilled with being the underdog, he said he’s been training at a relaxed level he didn’t get to experience his most recent time out, when he beat arguably his biggest rival, fellow Brit Paul Daley, in February. That win came just a few weeks after the death of Page’s father.
“I’m really relaxed,” Page said. “I’ve got a lot of energy, and I’m in a really good place. This build-up has been the most chill. I feel like there’s a lot of attention on the Chandler-‘Pitbull’ fight, as well, so it takes it off myself and allows me to just focus on (my fight). This one feels a lot more relaxed.
“The Paul Daley thing was what it was, but there was a lot more going around for me at that time. It was an accumulation of a lot of (personal) stuff.”
What Page hopes happens Saturday is pretty much a mirror opposite of when he fought Daley, a fight most thought would be a stand-up battle but took a turn when Daley decided to go to the canvas.
“I’m just hoping we actually get what we want to get, which is two strikers actually striking,” Page said.
At Bellator 221, again it’s two elitelevel strikers, and this time what’s on paper might play out in the cage.
“He’s a different type of striker, just a hard guy to hit,” Lima said. “Not a lot of people have been able to connect on him, to hit him. That’s what we’re here to do. I’ve just got to connect — connect a good kick, a good punch — and everything’s going to change. Just find a spot, hit him, put him out and we’re going to the final.”