Michael “Venom”Page came up short in his bid to win the interim welterweight title at Bellator 281 on Friday night, losing a split decision to Logan Storley.
Londoner Page (20-2) was seeking to claim the belt in his hometown after his original opponent – official champion Yaroslav Amosov – withdrew to aid his native Ukraine’s defence against the Russian invasion.
American Storley (14-1) used his wrestling prowess to neutralise Page’s kickboxing approach for much of the main event at Wembley Arena, doing enough to beat the 35-year-old on two of the three judges’ scorecards (49-46, 48-47, 47-48).
“Thanks for having me London,” Storley said after his victory. “Boo me all you want, nobody stands with him.
“I’ve never felt that speed or agility, I saw the big shots coming and I put my head down. They can boo me all they want, I did what I needed to do and now I’m a world champ.”
Bellator CEO Scott Coker said: “Honestly, I thought that ‘MVP’ won that fight.
“You can’t just lay on somebody. You’re not doing any damage, you’re not getting closer to a submission, you’re not creating any threat. You’re just laying on somebody, and to me that’s not MMA.”
Earlier in the night, Fabian Edwards – brother of UFC welterweight Leon Edwards – knocked out former UFC champion Lyoto Machida in the first round, and fellow Briton Paul Daley bowed out of mixed martial arts with a knockout of Wendell Giacomo.
Full results
Logan Storley def. Michael Page via split decision (49-46, 48-47, 47-48)
Fabian Edwards def. Lyoto Machida via first-round KO (punches, 3:18)
Kana Watanabe def. Denise Kielholtz via second-round submission (triangle, 3:03)
Paul Daley def. Wendell Giacomo via second-round KO (punches, 4:09)
Simon Biyong def. Luke Trainer via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-27)
Daniel Weichel def. Robert Whiteford via first-round TKO (punches, 1:12)
Elina Kallionidou def. Kate Jackson via second-round TKO (strikes, 4:43)
Oliver Enkamp def. Mark Lemminger via third-round submission (buggy choke, 0:35)
Alfie Davis and Tim Wilde fought to majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Andrew Fisher def. Attila Korkmaz via unanimous decision (29-28. 29-28, 29-28)
Charlie Ward def. Alan Carlos via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-25)
Maciej Rozanski def. Lee Chadwick via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Chiara Penco def. Lanchana Green via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
