The Bellator cage makes its regular stop in London, England on Saturday, Nov. 23 as the SSE Arena at Wembley plays host to the promotion’s second visit of 2019 for Bellator Europe 6.
Headlining the card is one of the most talented athletes to come from English shores, as welterweight superstar Michael Page looks to put on a show for his hometown crowd. But “MVP” is just the cherry on top of a cake packed with British MMA flavor, with a host of domestic stars set for action throughout a deep fight card that looks set to produce plenty of fireworks in the capital.
Here are our four big burning questions ahead of Bellator Europe 6 on Saturday night:
What does MVP have in store for the London crowd this time?
You could argue that there’s even more pressure on “MVP” now after he lost his original dance partner and now faces a largely unheralded short-notice opponent.
Page (15-1 MMA, 11-1 BMMA) was all set to face off against Derek Anderson in England, but after “Barbaric” suffered injury complications during training camp, he was pulled from the fight, leaving Bellator matchmaker Jude Samuel with a late headache ahead of the event.
Italian Gianni Melillo has signed to step in, and will face Page looking to score arguably the biggest Bellator shock of the year after losing two of his last three outings by first-round KO.
It means all eyes will be on “MVP” when he steps into the cage against Melillo (13-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), and the expectation on the Brit to deliver another highlight-reel moment will be through the SSE Arena roof, given the opponent he’s facing.
It’s the sort of challenge Page will almost certainly relish, as he looks to leave the fans with another “wow” moment to talk about on the Tube ride home, just like he did against Evangelista Santos two years ago.
Can he produce another magic “MVP” moment at Wembley?
Who will win the unofficial British middleweight title?
Former BAMMA stars Mike Shipman and Fabian Edwards seemed destined to collide at some point during their careers. And, initially, it looked like that collision might come in a BAMMA title fight.
But former champ Shipman (13-2 MMA, 4-1 BMMA) and former rising star Edwards (8-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) never quite met in the British promotion. But now, with both men having advanced their respective careers to the next level, they will – and, as we discovered during media day at Bellator Europe 4 in Dublin, they still don’t get along.
With the bad blood still simmering from their BAMMA days, Shipman and Edwards face off in a co-main event that looks set to deliver fireworks, with both men possessing the sort of power that can end a fight in a split-second. Both men also have underrated submission games, so don’t count out a little scrambling on the mats, too.
Shipman is looking to bounce back from defeat to Dutchman Costello van Steenis, but that defeat is his first since a loss in his professional MMA debut, and no judge has ever needed to to turn in a scorecard for one of his fights, with each and every one of his victories coming inside the distance.
Edwards, meanwhile, is undefeated and supremely confident in his ability to shut out the lights on his fellow countryman. The Birmingham native’s last outing didn’t produce the headline-making performance he had hoped for, but in the highest-profile fight of his career, “The Assassin” says he’s ready to produce a performance to match.
It’s one of the biggest domestic dustups the UK has seen on home soil in recent years, but which Brit will walk away as the unofficial British middleweight champion? It’s going to be a lot of fun finding out.
Which former champion will prevail in a battle of European lightweights?
In an already tough sport, former paratrooper Terry Brazier is one of the toughest individuals you could wish to meet. And the Englishman’s ability to break the will of his opponents has been a hallmark of his performances over the years as he became a two-division BAMMA champion.
Now Brazier (11-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) takes on “The True Viking” Soren Bak, whose own toughness was on display for all to see in a thrilling Cage Warriors lightweight title bout against Paddy Pimblett, where he somehow survived a deep rear-naked choke from the noted submission specialist before taking the unanimous decision – and the vacant title.
Bak (13-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) was offered a shot at the UFC, but instead opted to take his skills – and his ax – to Bellator, where he immediately finds himself in with a man with similar fighting philosophies to his own.
It should be a real battle of wills between two genuine European hard men. But who will get their hand raised at the end of the fight?
Can Alfie Davis catapult himself into a big fight with a highlight-reel finish?
The last time we saw British lightweight prospect Alfie Davis fight, he ended up picking up a victory in London, but only after his opponent had attempted to kick his big toe up the Englishman’s rear end.
Now the spectacular striker from London will look to put on a show for his hometown fans against Italian Alessandro Botti, who was defeated by Brazier at Bellator 223 in London earlier this year.
Davis (12-3 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) is two for two inside the Bellator cage, but has yet to register a stoppage victory for the promotion. And you can bet that’s a stat he’ll be particularly keen to correct on Saturday night as he looks to defeat Botti (15-10 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) to register the 13th win of his promising MMA career.
He’s expected to win, but can he do so in spectacular fashion?
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