Bellator welterweight contender Michael Page believes that Douglas Lima is ducking him, suggesting that he lives in Lima’s head.
Page and Lima met in June 2019 in the semifinals of the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix, and Lima was the victor when he scored a stunning KO over the previously-unbeaten Page. Lima went on to defeat Rory MacDonald in the finals and claim the Bellator welterweight title for a third time, while Page has been fighting lower-level competition since then, winning four straight fights including a decision over Ross Houston at Bellator Paris.
Lima is now headed up to middleweight where he will take on former champ Gegard Mousasi for the title that former champion Rafael Lovato Jr. was forced to vacate due to health issues. Page, meanwhile, has been criticized by fans and media for a lackluster performance against Houston and questionable matchmaking. Fans are tired of watching Page booked in mismatches and want him to get a step up in competition again.
Speaking to MMAjunkie.com following Bellator Paris, Page said that if it was up to him he would be fighting Lima in a rematch next. However, Page says that the champ doesn’t want to fight him again, saying Lima is “worried” about what would happen in the rematch. Considering what happened in their first fight these are very intriguing comments by Page.
https://twitter.com/mmajunkie/status/1315702521277624323
“It does feel like, more and more, every fight that I have now, he is more and more trying to undermind what I’m doing. And I think it’s simply because he and I both know him how close that fight was, sorry, how much success that I was getting in that fight up until that point. He even admitted it afterward after how fast I was, that he’d never come up against anybody with that kind of speed. He said all these amazing things and had a lot to say about me as an athlete directly after the fight,” Page said.
“And now that I want to get back in, I think he doesn’t want that, you know? I think he’s almost as worried about what could happen the second time around which is why near enough every fight I hear something that suggests he doest want to make this fight happen again. Which for me, means I live in his head.”
Do you agree with Michael Page that Douglas Lima is avoiding a rematch against him?