The Venomous Intentions of Michael Page

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When mixed martial artists experience success, especially at the start of their careers, they want to fight as often as possible.

Undefeated welterweight Michael Page is no exception, but multiple injuries have slowed the British phenom’s rise up the ranks in Bellator MMA. However, Page is healthy again and ready to hit the cage, as he takes on Rudy Bears in a featured fight at Bellator 140 on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

“It’s been extremely frustrating, especially the last time it happened,” said Page, who was forced to bow out of Bellator 134 in February due to a cut sustained in training. “The cut wasn’t that big, but my coaches were worried about it opening up during the fight. I felt like I could still go in there, but my coaches told me it wasn’t worth losing on a technicality. I know I was fit and ready to go, but it was just a freak accident.

“I think everything happens for a reason, though,” he added. “When I come back to fight, I want to be strong. All of my injuries have been frustrating, but with this cut, I’ve been training all the way through. It didn’t keep me from training, and that’s why my camp has been so good. I’ve been in shape and been ready for a while now.”

The London Shootfighters product has finished six of his seven professional opponents, only going the distance in his most recent fight -- a unanimous decision victory over Nah-Shon Burrell at Bellator 128 in October. It marked the first time an opponent had made it out of the first round with Page, as he has four knockouts and two submissions to his credit.

After the Burrell bout, Page admitted he was happy to earn the victory but disappointed in how the fight played out.

“It was more frustrating because he was talking a lot of crap before the fight,” Page told Sherdog.com earlier this year. “I’m talking everywhere. Anywhere I saw him, even in the hotel, he was talking crap. I expected him to come out and be a little bit more wild and really try to go for it. I expected a lot more of a fight.”

Page chalked it up as a lesson learned and has no plans to repeat the same mistakes against Bears, who returns to Bellator after a three-year absence.

“I was way too relaxed during that fight,” Page said. “I allowed myself to get comfortable in bad positions. [Burrell] tried to play it close and pin me up against the cage. I just didn’t work hard enough at that point. I should have been doing a lot more work to create the space to make it uncomfortable for him to sit there.”

Bears sports a modest 16-13 record and has won just two of his seven fights in three stints under the Bellator banner. However, he will enter the bout on a two-fight winning streak. Page views Bears as the next step towards earning a title shot.

“Anybody that’s got that much experience, you have to be careful and I’ll need to bring my ‘A’ game,” Page said. “That’s why I made sure my camp beforehand has been more intense, so I could be more prepared for him. He’s been through the wars, so I need to make sure I’m ready for him. I think he’s going to be well-prepared, but I don’t think this fight is related to any of my previous opponents. I don’t try to stress on the meaning of each fight. For me, each fight is about progressing in my division. Each fight means an equal amount until I get to the title fight.”

The Bellator 140 card is loaded with welterweight contests, including a title bout between champion Douglas Lima and Andrey Koreshkov in the main event and other bouts featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans Josh Neer and Paul Daley, a rumored future opponent for Page. “Venom” declined to say who he wanted to face after Bears, but he believes he might not be more than a couple of fights from a shot at the 170-pound title.

“There’s nobody I’m looking for specifically,” Page said. “I don’t care enough about the other people in the division to target people. I’m on my own journey. It’s about me and how ready I want to be before I go for a title, but the way I’ve been training, I feel a lot closer than I have been before. Maybe in the next couple of fights I’ll be ready for it.”

Page feels confident he can knock off Bears, as long as he fights his fight. However, he does not just want to beat the journeyman; he wants to send a message to the rest of the Bellator welterweight division.

“I just need to be me,” Page said. “As long as I’m 100 percent, not many people have a chance at beating me. I just have to come in and do the job. I want to demoralize my opponents. A lot of people come into the cage to fight me not believing what’s happened in my previous fights. They think it’s not going to happen to them. I want to go in there and show them I’m real and how tough my style is.”