Michael Page has spoken out following his loss to Logan Storely in what was largely a heavy grapple approach by the American. However, MVP has taken his part of the blame for the Bellator 281 bout.
Storely won a decision that left many people double-checking scoring criteria, including Bellator president Scott Coker.
Speaking to MMAJunkie, Page said:
“I always like to put as many things that have happened on myself,”
“For me, I need to be better at not being held down. There are a few things I feel I could’ve done in retrospect better. A few decisions I could’ve made and I could’ve guaranteed myself the win. At the same time, it’s also weirdly exciting for me. All I have to do is fix one thing in my game and I become the most dangerous person in MMA. That’s how I see it. People do not want to get back in front of me while I’m doing what I do. So it’s kind of exciting. I’m ready to get straight back to work.”
Scott Coker Gives His Thoughts
“Honestly, I thought ‘MVP’ won that fight,” said Coker during his post-fight press conference. “The reason why I say that, to me, it’s like I was talking to my guys back home and they go, ‘Look it’s close, but we think ‘MVP’ won.’ And I said, ‘Why do you say that?’ And they said, ‘Because half the round, he was striking. The other half, you can’t just lay on somebody.’ You’re not doing any damage, you’re not getting closer to submission, and you’re not creating any threat. You’re just laying on somebody, and to me, that’s not MMA.”
Michael Page though puts the work on himself rather than his opponent.
“I understand (Coker’s) view. But I’m also in a game where grappling is a big thing, wrestling is a big thing,” Page said. “It’s difficult for me to then turn around and be annoyed by grappling. The wrestling element of things should be a tool to create more damage and try to win a fight, not be something that allows you to survive a fight. I don’t feel you should win that way, but at the same time, it is part of the game.”
“I do think there are too many grey areas in the sport, which is why one referee can see something so different from another referee watching the same thing. It’s something I think the sport in general needs to fix, as far as what is more important during a fight. But I came to win, and I do believe he kind of came to survive. I understand why people feel the way they feel.”
The fight for Page was not a damaging one, at least physically. Storely might have won the battle, but Page says he should be prepared for the war to come.
Michael Page on Storely Loss
“I’m a very petty person,” Michael Page said. “He’s won, but in not in any kind of spectacular fashion. I’ve legit had harder spars. The reason I say it that way is that physically I don’t have a bruise, I don’t have a sore, I don’t have an ache. Anything. It doesn’t even feel like I’ve had a five-round fight. That’s probably the most frustrating thing about it, is losing in a way where I know for a fact I could go into a fight this weekend and feel fine and be good to go. I know he couldn’t say the same. Weirdly, he’s won the fight. … I want to get it back, so I’m going to be pushing, working, putting on more fights until I’m able to get back to that position.”
“The quicker I get to that level where I’m able to nullify them trying to nullify me, the more problematic I’ll be,” Page said. “Then I can be MVP the majority of the fight, and that is a problem for every person. I don’t care what organization. Any person that is in front of me at my weight, I’m destroying them.”
Who would you like to see Page bounce back against?
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Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
