MMA fans didn't need another reminder, but Michael "Venom" Page gave them one anyway.
On Saturday, the 29-year-old Page advanced his pro record to 11-0 with a sensational flying-knee knockout of Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos at Bellator 158.
It was Page's 10th win by stoppage and seventh by knockout. The welterweight is 7-0 under the Bellator banner.
At the same time, Page has only faced one fighter, Nah-Shon Burrell, with UFC experience. His seven Bellator opponents combine for a pro record of 86-56-1.
What should come next for Page? What makes sense for him and Bellator? Should he get a bump in competition or continue to face inferior foes against whom the chances of a knockout are greater?
Opinions vary. Bleacher Report MMA writers Scott Harris and Steven Rondina are here to debate and break it down.
Steven Rondina
Scott, as I'm sure you saw last night on social media—or maybe on television, if you're a fan of tape-delayed and thoroughly spoiled sporting events—Page scored what may have been the most impressive win of his MMA career.
Facing well-traveled veteran Santos, Page accurately predicted a takedown attempt and countered with a flying knee. Santos, who has always been a tough cookie, folded back, writhed on the mat and clutched his face. The ref declared Page the winner. A doctor subsequently declared Santos had a fractured skull from the finish (warning: graphic image).
Cris Cyborg just posted this pic which shows the fractured skull Cyborg Santos suffered in the Michael Page fight. pic.twitter.com/uoWxa4eSRI
— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) July 17, 2016
The win, alongside the Pokemon-inspired celebration afterward, has put Page under a mainstream spotlight for the first time and raised one important question: Is MVP the most exciting fighter outside the UFC, or in all of MMA?
What's the answer to that, Scott?
Scott Harris
He’s in the conversation. WSOF's Justin Gaethje, ONE Championship's Bibiano Fernandes and Bellator's own Michael Chandler, plus several UFC fighters beside, come to mind alongside Venom.
But Page is right up there. You can't watch his highlight reel of flying knees and tornado kicks and reach any other conclusion. And that's before you factor in the exuberance, even arrogance, he injects into his camera time. Those Pokemon moves weren't a huge surprise if you recall he actually molds his fighting style after video games.
It's more than flash too. Steven, you already mentioned the exquisitely timed knee that quite literally dented Santos' skull. That sort of thing takes skill and it takes power. And by the way, credit Page for later tweeting his best wishes to Santos and indicating he donated money to a GoFundMe page established to help with Cyborg's medical bills.
I would like to express my best wishes to @CYBORG121 & his family, as he is currently being held in hospital for a fractured skull
— Michael Venom Page (@Michaelpage247) July 17, 2016
.. And will be undergoing surgery please may I ask that you join me in donating towards his @gofundme pagehttps://t.co/oPkIk6kuVf
— Michael Venom Page (@Michaelpage247) July 17, 2016
So there's a lot to commend the Englishman for on this.
There's just one little problem: He hasn't beaten anybody yet.
Santos is 38 years old and had lost two of his last four fights going into Saturday's bout with Page. And even so, he's a big step up for the Englishman, whose recent hit list includes illustrious names such as Rudy Bears and Charlie Ontiveros. The combined UFC record of his opponents comes to 1-1, and both those fights come from Burrell.
If Bellator wants to continue to rise Page's star, they have to get him better opponents. Steven, your thoughts?
Rondina
I wholeheartedly disagree with the complaints of how Bellator has handled Page—no offense to you personally, but it's just been a major part of the discussion with him for years. Ever since MVP went viral back in 2012 with that tornado kick KO, he's been subject to the normal questions about how he'd do against a wrestler and what'd happen against somebody who doesn't just stand there.
Your question is, "can Page's star continue to grow exclusively from crushing tomato cans?" And the answer is, "of course it can." I'll pitch a few examples.
Who's a bigger name among MMA fans: Page or Albert Tumenov? Whom do MMA fans care more about? Which fighter do MMA fans want to see more of? The answer to all those is Page. And not by a little.
Tumenov is an exceptionally skilled fighter with some impressive wins over stiff competition, but which scenario is more likely to make a fighter a star? A split-decision win over Lorenz Larkin and a loss to Gunnar Nelson, or nailing a WWE-era Ken Shamrock-style toehold and crushing a dude's skull? I'd bet you cash money it's the latter.
There are so many fighters who are technically solid and have wins over "somebody" fans couldn't pick out of a police lineup. If anything, the UFC should be taking notes on how Bellator has handled Page when it comes to making a star.
Harris
As MMA fans, we should give ourselves a little credit. While we're at it, let's give some to Page too.
Bellator positions itself as a fun alternative to the UFC. Its leaders don't have the roster depth they'd need to compete with the big league on a fight-for-fight basis. So they get creative with things such as aging legends and theatrics and mismatches. This approach is fine, but it's also playing with fire.
Other concerns aside, if you lose credibility, it's awfully hard to get back. If Bellator doesn't advance the plot of this unscripted reality show by moving Page up the ladder, the company moves itself and Page a little closer to stagnation and delegitimization.
Fans can smell that from a mile away. If a star beats the same jobber over and over again, is he a star? Comparing Page to Tumenov is apples to oranges. The UFC isn't pushing Tumenov like Bellator is pushing Page because it doesn't need to. All the tornado kicks in the world couldn't pull you out of the UFC's welterweight crowd, especially if, like Tumenov, you don't speak fluent English. He's not exactly on even marketing ground with Page.
A loss would be bad for Page, too, just as it was a few months ago for Tumenov. But if Page keeps waxing no-names with nothing on the line, fans will lose interest and drift away. Page's mystique will lose its traction. The window will close on what is, in Page, Bellator's best chance to cultivate a bona fide star outside of a UFC context. None of those things would be good for business.
After Saturday's fight, Bellator matchmaker Rich Chou tweeted he was getting a lot of interest from other welterweights on the roster. The brains trust could make several matchups that deliver—bear with me now—excitement and high stakes. Chidi Njokuani. Saad Awad. Brennan Ward. Paul Daley.
Getting even more requests now to fight MVP, easily the most wanted man on the roster ??
— Rich Chou (@rich_chou) July 17, 2016
Any of those guys would be a substantial step up in competition. Should Bellator be afraid to match Page up with any of them? Should fans? Should Page?
Who knows? Maybe Page could even be in a main event some day. Maybe he could score one of those big knockouts in one of those contests. That sounds like a good business move to me. Hey, at the end of the day, why are you really watching?
Rondina
While you're completely correct that not speaking English (or even having a thick accent) can be a major detriment to a fighter's promotional ceiling, my point still stands. You could substitute in Rick Story circa 2011, Jake Ellenberger circa 2012 or Neil Magny circa 2016.
And that's just in the welterweight division! Never mind all the bantamweights, featherweights and lightweights who got thrown into the deep end and forgotten about before ever hitting the main card despite being generally great fighters—here's lookin' at you, Bryan Caraway.
Wins and losses are just trivialities? Back away from the participation trophies, Steven.
Seriously, though, excitement does count for a lot. For me, the Page show is a little like watching repeats of a television episode. As great as it is, there are only so many times you can watch the Red Wedding before the effect wears off, no matter how big of a Game of Thrones fan one might be. Eventually, the show has to go on, and that's where we are with Page, particularly given the low stakes involved to date. Think Red Wedding with animated gerbils.
There seems to be fundamental agreement between us on that, even if we disagree about whether it should happen in his next contest. A step up in competition, not another meaningless knockout, is what it might take to make Page a star, both inside and outside the MMA bubble. There's no denying both things are important and carry their own risks and rewards.
In any case, Page has established himself as a compelling part of any Bellator main card on which he appears. That may have been the hardest part. It will be interesting to see whether he and those around him can establish him as something more.
