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DUBLIN – Michael Page thinks Richard Kiely is fortunate to be in his current position.
Page (14-1 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) and Kiely (3-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) clash at Friday’s Bellator Europe 4, which takes place at 3Arena and streams live on MMA Junkie. It’s definitely the highest profile fight of Kiely’s young career, and he admits that he, himself, is surprised that “MVP” took the fight.
But Page says that Kiely doesn’t deserve the shine he’s getting, and it will all end after their fight.
“It doesn’t really make sense,” Page told MMA Junkie. “He’s lucky he’s got the spotlight on him now, but then sometimes you don’t actually want the spotlight on you when (expletive’s) actually happening.
“Everyone underestimates my style. He kind of claims to have come from the same thing. We’ve been in the same competitions together, but we’re not the same. He was nobody back then, while I was somebody, and he’s still a nobody now, while I continue to be somebody afterwards.”
When asked why he took the fight with Kiely, who’s far less experienced than him, Page said it’s simply to stay active. He also wants to squeeze one more in before the end of the year.
“One hundred percent, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do in November, which is around the corner,” Page said. “They offered me an in-between, why not take it? For me, it means two fights knocked off, you know, and for contract, it means two paydays in a very short amount of time, and they’re willing to pay me the same amount that they were paying me.
“I find it funny. Why not? I make a lot of money here, so I’m definitely going to take as many fights as possible.”
Page is coming off his first pro defeat, a knockout loss to a very formidable former welterweight champion in Douglas Lima at May’s Bellator 221 but will not let the loss deter him.
Page said it hasn’t affected his confidence or desire to compete.
“One loss doesn’t mean anything,” Page said. “It’s 10 minutes of being annoyed at yourself. It’s 10 minutes of just being frustrated that you didn’t get the result. It’s 10 minutes of not being able to do the celebration I wanted to do. That’s it, and then after that it’s back to the drawing board.
“I know my abilities, I know where I can adapt, and it’s just about getting back on track.”
He will be stepping into enemy territory when he takes on Kiely but is excited to put on a show for the Irish fans, who he praises for being very knowledgeable and passionate.
And “MVP” is confident that he’ll be walking out of the arena with a lot more fans.
“I know I’ve definitely got a lot of Irish fans here,” Page said. “At the same time, the Irish are proud of being Irish, and that’s what I love about the Irish. This is one of the reasons why I actually wanted to fight here. They understand fighting, they love combat, and they love being Irish, so walking out to them booing maybe first, but when they see what I do, they’ll appreciate it because they understand fighting – and them cheering after is what I’m here for.”
To hear more from Page, check out the video above.
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