Five things we learned from Bellator 158: MVP steals the show, Daley falls short

Mixed martial arts company Bellator made their UK debut on Saturday at London’s 02 Arena, delivering an entertaining and action-packed card on their maiden voyage to these shores. Here are five key take-homes from the show:

‘MVP’ more than just a nickname for Bellator star Page - London’s own Michael ‘Venom’ Page improved his unbeaten record to 11-0 with seven KOs and three submissions when he stopped Brazilian veteran Cyborg Santos with an instantly-Vineable flying knee to the head. Beyond the winning ways, the likelihood of a spectacular finish and the incredible fan support, Page has all the makings of a megastar. His flashy, professional wrestling-esque entrances mesh with his cage presence and quotable lines (“for all the Pokemon Go lovers, I just caught me a Cyborg!”) for a total package who could end up being a big part of the Bellator package - in fact, he took the topical Pokemon reference all the way, donning a Pokemon baseball cap and rolling a ‘Poke Ball’ at his fallen foe after the victory:

https://twitter.com/BellatorMMA/status/754419055788904449

‘The Voice’ star risks vocal damage in defeat - Amidst the lower-profile undercard, the name Chase Morton may ring a bell to a few of you. The Londoner was on hit BBC talent show The Voice earlier this year, known as the ‘singing martial artist’. His entrance was memorable, as Morton exploited his crossover appeal by singing his own entrance music as he made his way down to the cage. Unfortunately for Chase, his efforts when the bell rang weren’t quite as spectacular as he lost in round three of three to Nathaniel Wood. In a crushing moment of irony, Wood earned the submission win with a rear-naked choke, locking his arm across the crooner’s vocal cords until he was in no position to continue. Let’s hope, for Morton’s sake, that no real damage was done to his other money maker!

Reality TV’s Alex Reid completes miserable night for crossover fighters - Yes, that Alex Reid. The Katie Price fella. The Celebrity Big Brother bloke. The now-40-year-old MMA fighter who competed in the ‘preliminary main event’ at Bellator 158 against fellow veteran Manuel Garcia, 43, of Oviedo, Spain. The bout wasn’t particularly enjoyable, meaning that the eight pre-TV fights featured six enjoyable contests and two not-so-good bouts featuring television ‘stars’. A member of Reid’s camp told a colleague before the fight that Alex was in a foul mood on Saturday. A comfortable defeat over three rounds to Garcia probably didn’t make him feel any better.

A popular finish for British fight fans wasn’t to be - Paul Daley, in the wake of his original bout being postponed, instead fought Douglas Lima of Brazil on terra firma at the O2 Arena. With a welterweight title shot up for grabs to the winner of this main event bout, it was no surprise that a high-octane and physical bout unfolded. Unfortunately for the Nottingham fighter, it was Lima who got the better of the exchanges in the first two rounds of three, leaving ‘Semtex’ needing a finish in the third to avoid disappointment. Lima smartly used this to his advantage, grounding the Brit at every opportunity to deflate the crowd in terms of both the end result - three judges’ scores of 30-27 - and the shutdown of an otherwise-enjoyable headliner.

A good first impression in the United Kingdom - Bellator 158 was rocked by the withdrawal of Josh Koscheck, cancelling his highly-anticipated grudge bout with Daley, the heart condition and unfortunate death of Kimbo Slice and a general struggle to promote the event in the shadow of the UFC. The O2 Arena wasn’t a sell-out and a chunk of those who came were papered attendees (given free tickets to improve the look of the crowd for the TV cameras). However, that’s where the bad news ends for the UK debutants. Despite losing headliners, they delivered a show with enough entertainment and variety to hook those in attendance with little prior knowledge of the company or the sport in general. It must also be said that the entire staffing operation were extremely friendly, informative and helpful, going a long way towards ensuring that if they return to these shores in the future, repeat business will be very strong.