After outpointing Paul Daley to win a unanimous decision at Bellator 216, Michael ‘Venom’ Page thinks Daley should retire as he doesn’t ‘see him going anywhere’ in MMA.
Page defeated Daley last night with all three judges scoring the bout 48-47 in his favour. Daley, who clearly was frustrated with the decision, walked straight out of the cage when the scorecards were read.
Talking to the media after the fight, ‘MVP’ sort of gave “Semtex” his respect, but criticised Daley’s gameplan for the fight as it didn’t live up to his pre-fight talk.
“I’m still not happy with my performance, I made a lot of mistakes myself, but at the same time I told you guys he was a bitch, man, he didn’t really want it,” Page said. “He was talking all this stuff about [he was going] to knock me out, and he ran the whole first round, and then all he wanted to do was play groundwork. To play wrestling.
“I give him my respect, he’s a veteran of the game. He understood that regardless of what we talked that he can’t stand with me. He knew that from the beginning, and he came in with a different game plan. But I also felt like he kind of burnt himself out, because that’s not really his game either. He was holding onto me for dear life. There wasn’t enough activity on the floor. I wasn’t really in danger at all off my back.
With Page being well known for his flashy style on the feet, and most of Daley’s finishes coming by way of knockout, fans anticipated an exciting standup fight between the two Brits. However, what played out was a frustrating five rounds of little action and lots of takedown attempts.
“I’ve said this before, seriously, where does he go after I beat him?” Page said. “Seriously, where does he go? Maybe he should retire and just be done with it, because he’s not good enough. His gym is a sham. Anybody in Nottingham, or Newcastle or wherever the hell he lives, don’t ever go there. He overcharges and under-delivers, the same way he did here. Under-delivered.
“I don’t see him going nowhere. The reason why he’s been at the level he is, it’s because he can’t get by the top echelon of the sport.”
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