One of the most eagerly anticipated rematches in Bellator MMA is set to head to the U.K. as London’s SSE Arena gets set to play host to Bellator London, with a dynamite welterweight clash at the top of the card.

Former Bellator welterweight champion Douglas Lima will take on London’s own Michael “Venom” Page in a 170-pound rematch in the main event of the card at Wembley, with the winner likely to secure the next shot at the newly-crowned welterweight champ, undefeated Ukrainian Yaroslav Amosov.

Lima defeated Page via stunning knockout in their first meeting in the semi-finals of the Bellator welterweight Grand Prix in a fight that initially appeared to be going well for the Brit before he was caught with a perfectly-placed shot as he attempted to scramble to his feet.

Lima’s victory booked his place in the tournament final, where he defeated Rory MacDonald to recapture Bellator’s 170-pound strap for the third time in his career.

The Brazilian then jumped up a weight class and faced Gegard Mousasi for the vacant middleweight title, but lost out to the Dutchman via unanimous decision at Bellator 250 last October.

And things went from bad to worse for “The Phenom” as he suffered back to back losses for the first time in more than a decade as he was outpointed by Amosov, who tore the welterweight title from his grasp at Bellator 260 in June.

Now Lima is set to step back into the Bellator cage with U.K. superstar Page, who has reeled off five consecutive wins since his 2019 loss to the Brazilian.

Highlight-reel knockouts of Richard Kiely in Dublin and Giovanni Melillo in London earned Page a trip to Saitama, Japan, where he represented Bellator in style with a third straight knockout as he finished Japanese veteran Shinsho Anzai.

A decision victory over former Cage Warriors welterweight champion Ross Houston followed at Bellator 248, before Page sealed his fifth straight win with a doctor-stoppage TKO of Derek Anderson at Bellator 258 in May to improve his record to 19-1.

Now Page is set to face Lima again, with the Englishman looking to get payback for his lone career defeat, while former champ Lima is looking to re-establish his credentials as the top contender at 170 pounds. 

It’s a huge fight for Bellator, a huge fight for UK MMA, and a big occasion for Bellator’s European team, who are looking set to host full-capacity events in front of crowds for the first time since Bellator 240 in Dublin in February 2020.

 

BELLATOR LONDON: CONFIRMED FIGHT CARD

Main Card

  • Douglas Lima vs. Michael Page
  • Robert Whiteford vs. Andrew Fisher
  • Yves Landu vs. Tim Wilde
  • Luke Trainer vs. Yannick Bahati

Preliminary Card

  • Lewis Long vs. Uros Jurisic
  • Kane Mousah vs. Davy Gallon
  • Lucie Bertaud vs. Elina Kalliondou
  • Charlie Leary vs. Gavin Hughes
  • Fabacary Diatta vs. Nathan Rose
  • Khurshed Kakhorov vs. Mike Ekundayo

Bellator London will be streamed live on Showtime in the United States and on BBC iPlayer in the U.K.

Photo/video credit: Bellator MMA