They say revenge should be served cold. But that's not how Michael Page intends to serve it up to Douglas Lima.
After two years of long waiting, Page will have tonight the chance to avenge his only loss in his troubled career.
Tonight at Bellator 267
, Michael "Venom" Page will seek revenge on Douglas Lima.
The promotion's eagerly awaited return to London will be headlined by the much-anticipated second meeting between Bellator's top-two ranked 170-pounders.
To say Page enjoys the chance to settle the score against the Brazilian would be an understatement.
SunSport's MVP said that MVP was happy with the outcome. This is the only thing that has blemished my record.
"And it was one that I believed was more my fault. Douglas Lima is still an amazing athlete, a tough fighter and a great fighter.
"But I feel that that particular loss was more due to things that I did wrong than what he did right."
Page, a fan favourite, was knocked out in the second round by Lima, former champion at Bellator 221 on May 2019.
The forward-thinking Page isn't resigned to the loss, even though she has fought for a rematch for more than two years.
He stated, "I allow myself five minutes to vent my frustrations, be mad, upset, feel whatever it is at the moment, and then I move on."
"Now, I only acknowledge the error. It's not something I dwell on."
Page, who is agile and mysterious, has actually taken solace in his performance in the first round.
He stated, "I've seen it [the fight] loads. It always confirms what I felt.
"Even after the fight, right away in the cage, watching it, I was like, 'Yeah! I can see what you did there.
"But you see more when you have more time to look at it. Two major mistakes were made by me, and they all stemmed out of my desire to win the fight.
"Because I rocked him, he could almost see the finish line and was excited to sort of cross it.
"So, I was a lot less strict with my distance, which was my first mistake.
He was able to sweep me. He was then able to win the KO because of my desire to get back on my feet.
"If I had accepted that he has some extra time since I'm on his floor, "Let me roll to my back, take my time, and work my way up," that wouldn't have happened.
Page and Lima were on opposite sides of the coin going into their second meeting. Lima was riding a four-fight win streak, while Page had a two-fight skid.
Page, like many MMA fans, believes that Lima isn't the same aggressive and domineering person he used to be.
According to the 34-year old, he sometimes seems a little too patient and doesn't have the same urgency in his fighting style.
"We saw it in his fight against [Gegard] Mousasi. Mousasi is, to me, one of the most skilled MMA fighters anywhere. It's hard to make a judgment based on that.
He doesn't get the gear up. He realizes that his kicks are beginning to show results towards the end.
"Then, in his last fight he seemed to give up. He got up after the first takedown of the first round.
"In the second round I thought he would pick up the pace a bit. It happened again in round 2.
"And it's always at the two-minute mark. With three minutes to go, he was taken down.
"There wasn't any urgency in him standing up again.
"And then, the same thing happened every round until the end when he decided he wanted to submit. It was again too little too late.
Page's belief that he is a better fighter has not changed since that fateful night at Rosemont's Allstate Arena.
His top priority is to show his love ones that he can do it again in front of them.
He stated: "I truly and honestly mean this, and it's something I've said before, but I need to get him to see the difference in level.
"So, I'm going to play with him but in a much more aggressive manner. It's important to realize that you are dealing with a different beast.
"And when he doesn't seem to be preparing and he seems demoralized at the events, and I feel like what I saw in last fight regarding the takedown and the fight, I'll go for the fight.
It's going to get worse when it strikes you and you're unable to do [anything]. That is your territory.
"I want that look in his eyes, then I'm going to put that frustration to bed and put him to rest."
Bellator 267: Lima vs. MVP2 live on BBC iPlayer starting at 5:30pm BST Friday, October 1
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