Bellator has been trying to book a fight between British knockout artists Michael Page and Paul Daley for years. Now that Page and Daley are both expected to participate in Bellator’s Welterweight Grand Prix, the fight would seem to be closer to fruition than ever.
In fact, Page thinks it’ll happen before the year is out.
“I’m still waiting to get confirmation on everything and I’m not entirely sure yet,” Page told MMANytt this week. “Either way, in my head I’m in the tournament and he’s my next opponent. It’s definitely going to be in the UK because it’s something I’ve mentioned. It can’t be in the States because it wouldn’t make any sense at all.
“That fight by itself is going to be one of the most spoken about fights for a while,” he added. “You rarely get two UK fighters that can create this kind of noise. It has to be in the UK and it will be sometime this year. The tournament itself kicks off in September so I’m sure it’s going to be far long after that.”
“This is definitely a London fight,” he said. “It 100-percent has to be a London fight, at the O2 or Wembley, I don’t see it being anywhere else, in my opinion.”
Page, if you couldn’t tell, is not a Daley fan. Given the disdain he feels for his rival, he’s very excited to get his hands on him.
“I hate the guy, I don’t like him at all,” Page said. “I think he’s an absolute p****, d***head, what ever other disrespectful word you want to put in there, just throw it in, I don’t like him. I’ve got zero respect for him and especially the way he’s gone about this. Literally, like I said, when this first all came about I spoke to you about this before, it’s purely because he started badmouthing me, or just being disrespectful.
“I know he’s a bit of a character and a bit of a loudmouth, but I find it funny how he’s never said it whilst I’ve been sat next to him. I don’t think I’d even be that annoyed if he was sat next to me being the Paul Daley that I’ve seen before and he was running his mouth. At least then it was on even ground and I get a chance to respond. When you’re just doing it randomly on other people’s websites, it’s uncalled for and unnecessary. I thought we had different respect levels, but I’ve got zero respect for him. I can’t wait to take his head off.”
While Michael Page has plenty to say about Paul Daley right now, expect that to end once their fight is over.
“Once I finish him it will be game over. No more talking. He will get zero publicity from me after that.”
Who do you think will come out on top when the cage door finally closes on Michael Page and Paul Daley?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/1/2018.