Bellator’s most hyped prospect will experience his first true test at Bellator 158.

Michael “Venom” Page is a highlight reel maker’s dream. Before MMA the karateka competed in freestyle kickboxing, point fighting, and uses the fast, flashy style from that sport to keep a cult following in MMA.

Like many karate based strikers Page likes to use lunging punches while waiting to hurt foes on the counter. Unlike many traditional strikers, Page shucks and jives all around the cage, forcing opponents to over-commit, and fans to get emotionally invested in his work. Page has all the makings of a star, except a record with meaningful competition.

Because of his unremarkable record Page is one of the polarizing fighters in MMA. Is Page a flash in the pan or is he a legitimate talent?

Before we get started on this let me say I am a fan of Page. Frankly, I don’t know how you can be a fan of combat sports and not enjoy Page’s work.

Mixed martial arts is the most dangerous type of competitive problem solving. If one performs an incorrect maneuver their limbs and lives are in danger, not to mention their loss of monetary gain. To that point, I will never understand why someone doesn’t enjoy seeing new, creative ways of solving a problem.

Check out this sequence from Page’s first fight. Page hops in behind a feinted jab only to land a hard right low kick as his opponent Ben Dishman bites on the feint and turns away from him. When Dishman advances at Page the latter scuttles away rapidly before Dishman can even get close enough to complete his shot attempt. Dishman throws a few jabs that fall short due to Page’s distance and then the flashy striker starts doing his thing. Out of his bent over stance Page throws a right uppercut that skims Dishmans face. Page has found his rhythm and the striker is wiggling his arms around. Part distraction, part showboating but it does its job to unfocus Dishman so Page can land a hard jab.

In the gif Page threw three strikes, but between the exchanges he nearly touched opposite sides of the cage and in between punches Page’s arms were flying around in space. Page does a great job moving around opponents getting them looking at the wrong limbs. Page does not do a great job at conserving energy. Thus far it hasn’t mattered as Page has only been past the first round once and five of his other nine wins did not make it past the half-way point of the round.

Against experienced, conservative strikers Page’s own style could be his downfall. If one is willing to let Page dance around on the outside he will sap his own energy. Page moves too much for his style to be sustainable, especially against a fighter that will wait to time a leg kick on Page.

What Page has on nearly everyone he faces is a massive reach advantage. Page fights at welterweight but stands at 6’3″ and has a 77 inch reach. Page has more time to react to shots and can defend takedowns that much easier due to the distance differential. Page stands so far from everyone he fights, after a few steps away from an encroaching fighter Page is more than unhittable. Most importantly Page can sting opponents from outside and escape that much easier.

Below Page is literally standing square on the fence as Jeremie Holloway tries to put a hook on him, but because Holloway is nervous about an intercepting counter punch he stops his advancement. Page then sneakily steps his right foot up, putting him in a southpaw stance. Due to Holloway’s orthodox foot position both men have unguarded power sides. Page leans slightly out to his right to line his left shoulder up with Holoway’s face before using his angle to throw a straight left down the pipe as he pushes off with his left leg. To close the combination Page ends with a right hook. Holloway tries to escape by running backwards, but because of Page’s reach and quickness both strikes find their marks flush.

The strikes are simple but the space between the action is what Page is coming to be known for.

Page’s career has been dancing and pat-a-cake masquerading as fighting. If you watch any point fighting highlight reel you will see many fighters that move remarkably similar to Page. They hop in and out and raise their arms as exaggerated feints on the outside because they are looking for openings and trying to fool their opponents. In MMA that strategy is far less common so when a fighter does it authentically their opponent is lost.

Everyone Page has gone up against has either been hypnotized, or rushed in because they feel they have lost control once Page starts to dance.

Below Page is standing very side on, hopping in and out while presenting a small target and wiggling his arms. Page’s opponent Rudy Bears is literally twitching in anticipation of a strike he thinks is coming. Bears leads with an uppercut with the front arm as Page enters with lazer straight right. Page’s speed and reach allow his punch to hit its mark first and out go the lights. Interesting to note Page was stepping with his right straight, putting him at another curious angle to follow up with, or avoid punches from.

The most interesting thing about Page’s game is some of his best knockouts were done with simple strikes, he just uses very odd timing and movement to place them on his opponents. Page figures out creative ways to use his simple strikes to answer the complex questions mixed martial arts creates. Page’s unorthodox reputation proceeds him as fighters will watch for the tornado and spinning back kicks that don’t always come. In the meantime Page is happy to throw lancing straight punches.

The knock on Page is an easy and oft-used one, he hasn’t fought anyone skilled or experienced enough to take him out of his comfort zone. Frankly, I don’t know if that’s such a bad thing.

Stephen Thompson, another traditional martial artist turned MMA fighter, didn’t make his UFC debut until he was 29, the exact same age Page is now. After losing to Matt Brown in a hellacious brawl that saw Thompson get rag dolled plenty of times, the striker went back to the drawing board and trained with some of the best grapplers in MMA. After working his way up the ladder slowly Thompson is knocking on the door of a title shot, thanks to his obliteration of Johny Hendricks and his tactical dissection of Rory MacDonald.

On the flipside ultra-famous karate stylist turned kickboxer Raymond Daniels was rushed into an MMA fight against experienced journeyman Jeremiah Metcalf. Daniels lost by submission in an underwhelming fight, especially given the expectations. Daniels currently competes for Bellator Kickboxing, but has not returned to MMA since.

There is no reason to rush Page and ruin the project before it’s finished. There is no reason to push Page into a fight that is outside of his capabilities too soon.

Page’s next fight is against Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos. The Brazilian bomber is an appropriate step up in competition for Page.

Santos carries a relatively big name in MMA having fought in Bellator, Pride, Strikeforce, Cage Rage and Sengoku but his best years are behind him. Santos is pushing 38 and has been stopped by strikes in his last three fights. The brawler is not the most fleet of foot either, and I’m betting Scott Coker is counting on the Brazilian planting his feet to swing so Page can bounce around him to light him up with strikes.

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One thing to consider is Santos’s leg kicking ability. Before Nick Diaz arm barred Santos off of an odd takedown, the Brazilian was brutalizing Diaz’s legs with kicks. The problem was that Diaz was happy to eat them as long as he could box Santos up on the inside. After getting punched in the face one too many times Santos was desperate to take control of the fight, hence his takedown.

It will be interesting to see if Santos can time Page’s movement and take out the fancy striker’s legs with kicks. If Page can survive later in the fight with damaged legs it will say a lot about his skill set and future in the sport.

After Santos it doesn’t get any easier. The two main event fighters from Bellator 158 are fantastic kickboxers that will be happy to punt Page’s legs out from underneath him. What’s more, there are formidable grapplers like Chris Honeycutt, Josh Koscheck and Brennan Ward that will be looking to wrestle Page to the ground.

For now let’s be thankful that Coker has the sensibility to bring the prospect along gradually in Bellator instead of rushing him to the big stage.

Bellator 158 is one of the biggest cards ever put together by the organization, and one of the most anticipated fights features the ultra-prospect Page. His fighting style has acrobatic and effective thus far and it will be interesting to how he holds up against his veteran opponent, Santos. Until then, keep your eyes on Cagepages for more fight coverage.