BELLATOR welterweight Michael ‘Venom’ Page is widely considered to be one of the very best up-and-coming talents in mixed martial arts.
‘MVP’ produced one of the most devastating knockouts of the year when his flying knee left Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ Santos with a cracked skull.
And Page accredits his high-flying style and spectacular success to his “precision training” honed at the London Shootfighters gym.
“A lot of people like to hit the pads a lot,” he said.
“And as much as that builds up your power, it doesn’t build precision.
“I’m drilling precision, precision, precision. That’s what it’s all about.”
It’s that precision that marks Page out as one of the most dangerous strikers in the world, and something he believes all top-level fighters should have in their arsenal.
“I believe every martial artist should have the ability to throw a kick and have it land on a dime,” he said.
“That's a skill in itself and that's the type of training I do. I think that's one of the biggest elements a lot of fighters miss out on.
“It's not that my opponents are moving slow, it's that I can't anticipate movements very well.
“I'm a split-second ahead of the guys that are throwing punches and kicks at me. That's literally all that it is. I'm able to anticipate movements a very, very well.”
And, just like a top-drawer poker player, Page has developed the uncanny knack of identifying his opponent’s ‘tells’ and exploiting them.
He explained: “Everything is a tell sign inside the cage. Absolutely everything my opponent does is a tell sign.
“From the outside looking in, it might look like things are moving in slow motion for me. I'm just a step ahead of a lot of people.”
Page faces Fernando Gonzalez on Saturday at Bellator 165 and says he’s not underestimating the stocky striker.
“Fernando Gonzalez actually has a really slick style inside the cage,” he said.
“He has a slick boxing style. I can see how people can't underestimate him.
“He's very short for the division but I've seen him fight taller people very well because of his slick boxing style.
“He also has a very unique way of tracking people down in the cage. He's very good at cutting angles and putting pressure on his opponents.
“I never underestimate anyone. He deserves to be here for a reason.”
And while Page says he has plenty of training partners who can mimic Gonzalez’s style, his unique approach to mixed martial arts makes him a challenge that is almost impossible to adequately prepare for.
“That's one of my biggest advantages in MMA at the moment. There's very few of me.
“There are very few people that can replicate what I do. Your first experience with me is when you're in there with me, and I'm very hard to figure out.
“I know Fernando has taken some big shots in the past and he has a good chin but he's never taken the kind of shots I'm going to hit him with.
“This could go three rounds, but if it goes three rounds, he's going to be a bloody mess.
And Page admitted he already has his sights on the division’s biggest name.
“I would definitely take a fight with Rory MacDonald. I couldn't say no to a fight like that.
“For one, he's an amazing athlete in my division and he's ranked very high on a world scale. But I don't chase anybody. I've always been like that.
“I've always believed that the more you shine, the more people will be attracted to you anyway.
“He would be a massive challenge for me and it would be an amazing fight to win.”
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