Michael
Page doesn’t need a belt around his waist to make him the
biggest star in U.K. MMA. In his mind, he’s already reached that
pinnacle.
Advertisement
“Anybody that doesn’t understand that already is blind. I don’t
believe I need a belt to do that,” Page said at Bellator media day.
“That was my goal anyway. I think I’ve done enough to have proven
myself.”
That said, the flamobyant British striker will get his first
opportunity to vie for championship gold when he faces Logan
Storley for the interim 170-pound strap in the
Bellator 281 main event at the SSE Arena in London on Friday.
Storley is a replacement for reigning welterweight king Yaroslav
Amasov, who withdrew from the event to defend his native Ukraine
against Russian invasion.
“It’s a crazy situation. That fact that I can sit here and tell
anybody the reason I’m not fighitng this particular opponent is
because they’ve gone out to war is crazy in itself,” Page said. “It
shows you the place in the world we are right now. My feelings in
this matter are not important at all because of what is going on.
For me, I wish Amasov well, I wish his family well. And I hope
everything comes to some kind of final conclusion so nobody’s
suffering out there.”
Still, there is the matter of preparing for a different opponent.
Both Storley and Amasov utilize wrestling-heavy approaches, but
Page says that the American has a more common style. Regardless,
“Venom” is also quite accustomed to matchups changing on short
notice.
“Although they’re both exceptionally good at wrestling, different
styles of wrestling, I find Logan’s style more familiar to what the
majority of people in MMA do vs. Amasov’s style,” Page said. “So I
think it’s technically a better adjustment. For me, it’s like
getting any change of opponent any time. For my whole career, I’ve
had constant pullouts and change of opponents, it’s quite normal.
So it’s not something that’s shocking.”
Storley showcased a different aspect to his game in his most recent
outing, as he relied on his striking to take a five-round verdict
against Neiman
Gracie in the Bellator 274 headliner on Feb. 19 to improve his
career mark to 13-1. However, Page isn’t concerned about the
striking abilities of the four-time NCAA All-American wrestler from
the University of Minnesota.
“It’s nowhere near me,” Page said of Storley’s standup. “It’s not
even something I’m even considering in this fight.”
What Page has considered is what it means to be the interim champ,
and he believes there is no asterisk attached to the belt he plans
on taking home.
“I look at it as I am the champ,” he said. “I’m about to take a
belt home.” I’m the champoin of this division. The only differenc
is, when Amasov’s situation is settled and he’s able to come back,
he gets to jump to the front of the line to fight the champ.”