LONDON, UK – Today, BELLATOR MMA announced it will be returning to The SSE Arena, Wembley in London on Friday, October 1, with BELLATOR London, a card headlined by a must-see rematch between No. 1 ranked Douglas “The Phenom” Lima (32-9) and No. 2 ranked Michael “Venom” Page (19-1).
Fans in attendance at The SSE Arena, Wembley and those tuning in from around the world can expect an explosive night of elite MMA action in the capital, with two of the world’s best welterweights going toe-to-toe in a high-stakes match-up. Lima and Page will be putting everything on the line in pursuit of a win, with the fighter who emerges victorious booking themselves a fast-track ticket to a title shot against newly crowned welterweight champion, Yaroslav Amosov.
For the first time since February 2020, BELLATOR MMA fans in Europe will be able to fill the arena for the event that features a showcase of top international and homegrown athletes.
Tickets for BELLATOR London: Lima vs. MVP 2 go on sale on Friday, July 30, with a special pre-sale Thursday, July 29 and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk and BELLATOR.com.
The BELLATOR London main card action will kick off at 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET, while the preliminary card begins at 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET. BELLATOR fans can watch the event live on SHOWTIME (US), BBC iPlayer (UK), as well as both Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Sport (Ireland).
Lima and Page first met inside the BELLATOR Cage in May 2019 at BELLATOR 221 in the semifinals of BELLATOR’s Welterweight World Grand Prix. After an even first round, Lima sent Page to the canvas with a sweeping leg kick, which he then followed up with a spectacular punch and ground and pound strikes to finish the fight.
Lima will be looking to cause an upset for the hometown faithful and stop Page for a second time, denying the Londoner his chance for gold, and earning himself an immediate shot at recapturing the welterweight title which he lost to Yaroslav Amosov via unanimous decision in June of this year.
“MVP has put together an impressive string of wins together, but when he gets back in the cage with me, the end result is going to be the same as the first time,” said Lima. “Right now, I’m on a mission to put the BELLATOR belt back around my waist. Anyone standing in my way will be dismantled.”
Widely regarded as the poster boy of MMA in the UK, Londoner Michael “Venom” Page, or ‘MVP’ as he is known to his fans, will step into the BELLATOR cage fresh off the back of his spectacular first round TKO victory over Derek “The Barbaric” Anderson this past May. Currently riding a five-fight win streak full of highlight real knockouts, the only defeat on Page’s MMA record to date came at the hands of Lima, a loss that he is hungry to avenge.
“The comeback is always bigger than the setback. It was always gonna happen, it’s written in the stars,” said Page. “The one and only MVP is back, and I will have my redemption in front of my hometown the only way I know how – in venomous style.”
The current fight card is available below with additional bouts to be announced in the coming weeks.
BELLATOR London: Lima vs. MVP 2 MainCard:
SHOWTIME (US) / BBC iPlayer (UK) / Virgin Media Two & Virgin Media Sport (IRELAND)
Friday, October 1 – 9 p.m. BST/4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT
Welterweight Main Event: #1-Douglas Lima (32-9) vs. #2-Michael Page (19-1)
Featherweight Bout: Robert Whiteford (16-4))vs. Andrew Fisher (18-8-1
Lightweight Bout: Yves Landu (16-8) vs. Tim Wilde (13-4)
Light Heavyweight Bout: Luke Trainer (4-0) vs. Yannick Bahati (9-5)
Preliminary Card:
BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV (US)
BBC iPlayer (UK) | Virgin Media Two & Virgin Media Sport (IRELAND)
5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT
Welterweight Bout: Lewis Long (18-6) vs. Uros Jurisic (11-1)
Lightweight Bout: Kane Mousah (13-3) vs. Davy Gallon (18-7-2)
Flyweight Bout: Lucie Bertaud (3-2) vs. Elina Kallionidou (7-4)
Lightweight Bout: Charlie Leary (17-11-1) vs. Gavin Hughes (10-2)
Featherweight Bout: Fabacary Diatta (7-0)vs. Nathan Rose (7-3)
Bantamweight Bout: Khurshed Kakhorov (7-0) vs. Mike Ekundayo (8-1)
*Card subject to change
Please visit Bellator.com for additional information.
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About BELLATOR
BELLATOR MMA is a leading global mixed martial arts organization featuring many of the best fighters in the world. Under the direction of veteran fight promoter Scott Coker, BELLATOR events take place in major cities worldwide and can be seen on television in over 160 countries to an available audience of over one billion people. In the United States, BELLATOR can be seen on SHOWTIME. BELLATOR is comprised of an executive team that includes top industry professionals in television production, live event orchestration, fighter development/relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity, and commission relations. BELLATOR is based in Hollywood, Calif. and owned by entertainment giant ViacomCBS, home to the world’s premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms.
About SHOWTIME
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc., owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS, and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Amazon, Apple®, Google, LG Smart TVs, Oculus Go, Roku®, Samsung Smart TVs, Xbox One and PlayStation®4. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, Apple TV Channels, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV and YouTube TV. Viewers can also watch on computers at Showtime.com. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.
