It wasn’t the slugfest we’d hoped for, but Michael “Venom” Page narrowly defeated bitter rival Paul “Semtex” Daley via unanimous decision (48-47×3).
Daley came out very tentative in the first round. He threw one strike during the first five minutes of the bout. Page stalked him but stayed within a safe distance and there was almost no action at all in the first frame. Boos rained in from the crowd at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, but Daley stuck to his less-than-aggressive guns for the entire round.
In the second, he came forward a little more and started to work his takedown game. It was something of a surprise because Daley is almost always a striker exclusively, and he has criticized opponents in the past for taking him down.
However, after eating a few lightning strikes from Page, he became enamored with the thought of taking MVP down.
Boom goes the dynamite! #Bellator216 pic.twitter.com/oJLLS88CH4
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 17, 2019
Daley did have some success on the ground and it was a smart strategy, but his grappling game wasn’t advanced enough to win more than two rounds on the judges’ scorecards.
With the win, MVP moves on in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix and he will face Douglas Lima in the next round. Here is how the MMA community reacted to MVP’s win:
.@Michaelpage247 advances to the next round of the #BellatorWGP to take on @PhenomLima! #Bellator216 pic.twitter.com/XV8mBar9Hu
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 17, 2019
When parents turn off the violence settings on your video game #Bellator216 pic.twitter.com/EN9eoat7fW
— Dave Madden (@DaveMMAdden) February 17, 2019
Who won? #Bellator216
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) February 17, 2019
That is, without exaggeration, one of the worst rounds I’ve ever seen on a major MMA show.
10-9 MVP because I don’t think Daley threw a single strike. #Bellator216
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) February 17, 2019
What IF I told you that MVP vs Daley was a grappling battle?
— Flyin’ Brian J (@FlyinBrianJ) February 17, 2019
Afterward, the jawing that raised expectations for the bout didn’t stop. MVP offered a few parting shot:
Michael Page says Paul Daley should retire from MMA.
— Greg Rosenstein (@grosenstein) February 17, 2019
In the co-main event, Mirko Cro Cop defeated Roy Nelson in a rematch of aging heavyweights. The action wasn’t bad, though it was fought at a turtle’s pace. The two men landed their share of hard strikes to his opponent, but couldn’t do enough damage to get the finish. Quite, honestly, many believed Nelson deserved to get the nod, but it was one of two head-scratching decisions from the judges on the main card.
Before the controversial Cro Cop victory, Cheick Kongo got away with pure robbery as he was given a unanimous-decision win over Vitaly Minakov. Despite doing almost nothing for a full round and being taken down and controlled in another, one judge scored the fight 30-27 for the Frenchman and two others gave him the decision with 29-28 scorecards.
Kongo badly hurt an exhausted Minakov in the final 40 seconds of the third round, but he inexplicably went for the takedown with five seconds left. I was sure he’d made a mental error until the insane scores were read to announce the decision. Most of the MMA community seemed to find fault with the judges’ decision:
Every part of Bellator’s upcoming highlight from Kongo-Minakov will come from the final 20 seconds of that fight. And I guess the early low blow.#Bellator216
— Greg Rosenstein (@grosenstein) February 17, 2019
All the “Minakov won!” folks have A case, but Kongo probably had more effective and damaging offense like the 45 seconds he bothered to fight than Minakov managed in 15 minutes. That’s got to be a factor over Vitaly’s totally ineffective aggression. #Bellator216 https://t.co/NHqvqCN7Nu
— Bloody Elbow (@BloodyElbow) February 17, 2019
What’s up with the one judge who scored it 30-27? Assuming it’s the same judge who scored the Kongo/Minakov fight 30-27
— • (@ChairShot) February 17, 2019
Former Bellator HW champ Vitaly Minakov and Cheick Kongo go the distance. Minakov probably won R3. Kongo did the most damage of the fight in the last 30 seconds, but Minakov out-grappled Kongo for over 3 mins. R1 and 2 were close. Leaning 29-28 Minakov. #Bellator216
— MMASucka (@MMASucka) February 17, 2019
Minakov is pressing the fight, while Kongo is not engaging. 20-18 Minakov #Bellator216
— TheFightGame (@TheFightGameUFC) February 17, 2019
Per Bellator President Scott Coker, Kongo’s victory earned him a shot at new Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.
.@Kongo4Real hands Vitaly Minakov his first ever loss and becomes the number one contender for @RyanBader’s heavyweight title.#Bellator216
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) February 17, 2019
Here is a look at the rest of the results from Bellator 216:
- Michael Page def. Paul Daley – Welterweight Grand Prix opening round (48-47×3)
- Mirko Cro Cop def. Roy Nelson via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Cheick Kongo def. Vitaly Minakov via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Yaroslav Amosov def. Erick Silva via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Valerie Loureda def. Colby Fletcher via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 2:55
In all, this was a pretty disappointing weekend for Bellator. Friday’s event, Bellator 215 had a main event end in 15 seconds after an accidental kick from Matt Mitrione caught Serghei Kharitonov below the belt and left him unable to continue. Saturday’s show was packed with hype but didn’t deliver the action.
In any case, these kinds of shows happen to every promotion, but it’s unfortunate for Bellator to have missed an opportunity to shine with the UFC inactive until Sunday.
